


Our Place

by mettamark



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, Trans Junkrat, merman junkrat, other mythical creatures, there will be more ships as the story progresses so i'll add them as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:06:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mettamark/pseuds/mettamark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako is a reclusive fisherman who just wants nothing more than to make money and live peacefully. A fateful encounter changes his life for better or for worse, and he has to decide what he really wants in life, a chaotic life of mayhem that he left behind, or remaining ignorant to the powers at hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This Merman Junkrat AU has been going around a lot lately and I seem to have picked up on it, so this is thanks to the creators of the au of course because I literally love it so much.

“Hmng.” The giant figure grumbled, shielding his eyes from the harsh summer sun. In one arm he carried a cooler, it was full of ice but by the way he carried it there seemed to be no weight at all, even though it easily weighed that of a pre-teen. In the other hand, currently being used as a visor so that he could see across the sand, was a strong fishing pole. It was old, most of it’s parts being completely replaced at this point, but it was important enough to him that he continued to use it during his trips. 

Another pig like snort, kicking the sand out of his sandals, and he walked, finding the perfect spot on the rickety pier to set up for the day. It wasn’t even noon yet, which was good if he wanted to avoid both the law and the frequent beach goers. The locals knew to avoid him, but not everyone had the brain to look at him and keep walking, some took more convincing. 

“There we go,” he mumbled to himself, setting down the cooler with a thud, the pier screamed at him and shook, but stayed in one piece for the most part. He took a moment to look at the sea again, this time shaded slightly by a mangrove and other foliage. The water looked calmer than normal, not always a good sign, but it meant that he didn’t have to worry about getting soaked in sea spray for the time being. It might be a slow day, but not every day had to be bustling with amazing catches.

Mako sat himself down on the edge of the pier, and cast out his fishing rod. Yep, just the day to himself, fishing, just like every other day.

And just like every other day it went fine, he caught some pretty looking fish that he could dry out and sell, as well as some choice morsels for dinner. Nothing crazy like a full grown shark or as exotic as an octopus, but it just wasn’t that kind of day.

“Is this seat taken?”

Mako felt his skin prickle at the thought, and was about to growl out a yes before he saw who the intruder was. The man was a soldier, he moved into town a couple weeks ago, got everyone talking up a storm over it. Apparently he was someone important, but Mako had no interest in any of his business and stayed out, as usual. The man was probably older than himself, just as many scars too. There wasn’t any reason to push the guy off the rotting pier, so he huffed a vague response and went back to fishing.

The soldier gave a curt nod and sat down, facing toward the beach, and with enough room between them that made it obvious they were strangers. He was fishing too, a shiny new rod with a tackle box full of fancy lures. It didn’t seem to Mako that he was the type, considering he was currently wrestling with the hook in order to fit on a lure properly. It was probably a gift, likely from a grandkid or something, but it wasn’t his business.

With his focus back on fishing, Mako shifted where he sat. It wasn’t the comfiest pier, but it was the most secluded, which was the best option even though at the moment he wasn’t alone. The soldier probably saw him and felt some kinship, what with the way the both of them looked. Mako had it all, age spots, scars, tattoos, white hair, huge stomach. Nobody would look at him and think this was a man who liked to shoot the shit about stuff like tv shows and politics. This was a worn out, exhausted pig who had more stories than marks on his body, and the face only a mother could love. The soldier on the other hand, while built like a brick with chiseled features, had mangled scars across his face and his arms, one cloudy eye, and probably a few purple hearts sprinkled in ptsd and war.

The two of them, just close enough to seem like acquaintances, were some sight. Just a couple of old men, fishing on a pier as old as they were, enjoying the sun.

“So uh, you live around here?” 

Mako wished that the guy knew he wasn’t the talking sort, but when you have something in common like they did, you get your conversations where you can find them.

“Yeah.” He felt the fluid in his lungs and wheezed, coughing loudly into the back of his hand.

“I just moved, thought it’d be nice to get a fresh start.” The soldier wasn’t looking at him, but neither was Mako.

He wanted to respond, tell him that it was the perfect place for doing that, but he thought it would be best to let the guy talk it out himself. Mako was a good listener.

“It’s been really nice so far, the air is fresh and I’ve got friends who live close by.” He was smiling, Mako could tell, but it didn’t reach very far. Those kinds of smiles only hurt. “Just needed the quiet, you know?”

A grumble of acknowledgement, while Mako reeled in a tiny coral reef fish too far from home.

“Oh wait, I got ahead of myself, the uh, the name’s Morrison-Jack Morrison.” The soldier would put out his hand if the other fisherman weren’t already busy with dealing with his fresh catch.

“Mako,” was all he said, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

The sun beat down on them as they day passed, noon was over, and the soldier seemed too exhausted to continue any further. Jack grabbed his stuff, thanked Mako for the company, and finally left him alone. The fisherman found himself audibly sighing, hoping that this would be a one time thing or else he’d need to find himself a new part of the beach, again.

Nothing was biting after the last catch, and Mako knew it was time to head home. One thing he learned in his years of fishing, was when to give up. For some reason he felt like he should stay longer, to just sit and enjoy the crashing waves. Too old, he decided, the sea will be there waiting for him tomorrow, only the youth would chase it down like that. 

He took a mental inventory, counting all the fish to sell and all the fish to eat, separating bait, putting his things away, and pushed himself up. Bones snapped and popped loudly, and he felt stiff from staying so still. As he rotated an arm, attempting to pop his shoulder, there was a faint splash in the water. Of course fish show up the minute he decides to leave, that was just how mother nature was. Oh well, maybe it’ll stick around until tomorrow, patience was always key.

Getting home was easy when you live only a couple minute’s walk away from the beach. The hard part was avoiding the neighbors.

“Yo ‘Hog! Throwing in the towel already?” It was the delivery boy, high spirited and skating by on green blades. He was a nice kid, the town was too small for someone like him though. There was fire in his eyes.

Mako elected to ignore him, which was fine with Lucio, the kid was mostly just being polite as always. Just have to keep walking.

“Mr. Rutledge, do you have any extra?” It was the icey widow, too young to be a widow, such a shame. She had a thick accent, french, she had moved straight from Paris a couple years back.

A grunt, he set down the cooler and opened it. He didn’t say anything as she selected her fish, only holding out a hand to accept whatever money she was willing to give. The woman didn’t usually skimp on the price, paying a normal amount for an average fish for herself.

“Merci.” She simply walked away, fish in hand.

That was okay too, Lucio was just a kid, and she was buying fish, it was fine.

“Mako wait!”

Suddenly a couple minutes was becoming more minutes than usual. He turned to find himself looking down at the tiny chinese woman who lived halfway across town.

“I wanted to ask you about something!” She seemed slightly out of breath, probably jogged over to him once she noticed his hulking presence.

Stone faced as always, Mako waited for her to press on.

“I’ve been studying the water levels and the effects it’s had on the surrounding fauna and I was just wondering-”

“No.” He was blunt, but he wasn’t going to be stuck here for a lengthy discussion about how fish are behaving or how much the trees are leaning. The day had already been long enough.

“Oh...uh, maybe some other time then?” She looked around nervously, probably too hopeful.

Mako nodded anyway.

“Yes! I’ll call next time, maybe we can have lunch?” Her lips curled up in a smile, beaming.

“Thank you,” he nodded, then waved her off so that he could finally get to his house.

There wasn’t a single person who interrupted his last few steps, not even a peep while he unloaded his goods, not so much as a hum as he started to get to work. It wasn’t until after he has his hands inside the guts of a fish when the phone started to ring.

A string of curses came out of him as Mako stomped over to the phone, wiping his scale and gore covered hands on his apron, and answering it with a gruff, “This is Mako.”

“Oooohh It’s happened again! There’s no water in the thing, and it’s making this awful sound now, do you think you could come over? I’ve got to make it to town before 6, I’ll make it worth your while?” It was Lena, a speedy ex-pilot, whose car had just broken for the 3rd time this month.

“Give me thirty minutes.” Mako grumbled, he had been doing a lot of that today.

“Thanks love! Getting new patchimari’s in the store on monday, I’ll set a box aside for ya! See you in a minute!” The phone clicked.

Was there a sign on his back or something that said “Bother the hermit!”? The problem was never that Mako looked like a flesh colored watermelon that was left out in the sun with two teenagers and a switchblade, it was that the people in town where too damn friendly for their own good! All he wanted was to fish, sell fish, and sleep. The white picket fence neighbors and bright youthful faces were too much for him, and none of them ever saw Mako as a hulking mass of rage even though they should.

Mako sighed for the second time that day, and finished gutting his dinner, mind busy with trying to figure out what might be wrong with Lena’s old bug. 

Perfect place to start over was right, live there for a couple weeks and you forget you were anything other than the quiet neighbor who everyone thought of as their pudgy old uncle that loved collecting onion octopus plushies and drinking tea while watching the sunset. 

____

It was worse than he thought, Mako had to spend an hour fixing Lena’s car only to be suckered into going with her and getting the final touches for her date with the widow next door. Not only did he have to do that, he ended up having that chat about fish with Mei after she called to rsvp for their lunch and instead of planning to talk they ended up doing it then, lasting a full 3 hours before she hurriedly got off the phone, saying something about having to write everything down.

To say Mako was exhausted would be an understatement. He was tired, with barely any new money in the bank, and it was already time to go to bed. Showering felt great, especially after having been working on a car and sitting in the sun all day. After toweling off he trudged through the kitchen, absently chugging a glass of water, then heading back into his room.

There was a falter in his step, as his eyes found themselves staring at the frame on his dresser. Yeah, the town really did make you forget about the past sometimes.

Mako took the wooden frame in his hand, looking deep into the faces trapped behind the glass. It had been years since they were that alive, lungs breathing deep, heart pumping full force, arms and legs moving. It was a shame, widows were always left behind. He put their photo back down, and collapsed heavily onto the bed.

Today had been tough, there was no way he could deal with everyone a second day in a row. Tomorrow he would have to find someplace more secluded, maybe even bring a tank, or a bucket to catch some to sell to the pet’s market. That’s what he’d do, spend the day alone, catch something worth a pretty penny, order some chinese food, watch some tv and go back to sleep. That was great, he had a plan.

Nothing could go wrong.


	2. The creature from the black lagoon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the australian bits sound really weird, if they're too weird just tell me and I can change them, but I thought they sounded okay (but what do I know lol).

Mornings are always the same, tie the hair back, make breakfast, get ready for fishing for 6 hours straight. Since Mako was using the tank today he had to bring a wagon, which wasn’t the worst, especially since he could put some extra weight into it (lunch). 

The only thing different, was that he had to find a nice secluded spot with no soldiers or cars to be fixed, or even any polite hellos. Today was going to be totally silent, and he was going to enjoy it.

It was a little difficult for Mako to trudge through the underbrush with a wagon, but he managed. He’d explored a lot of the area in the year he’d lived there, and he knew one place that was close he could hide out at.

Pushing the branches out of the way and hacking up a lung, Mako made a face at the state of the hidden beach. It was small, and there was an even older, rickit-ier dock that could probably-hopefully support him. The area was awful, algae and sea foam coating broken bottles and crushed soda cans. There was evidence of a fire pit that had long since became a home for a family of cross eyed seagulls with twisted feet. It was a damn shame that the place was in such a shitty condition, Mako would give anything to have his own private little beach. Maybe he could say something to the neighbors, get Lucio some volunteer hours by cleaning the beach for him, hell he’d even pay the kid.

Either way time was ticking, and he had to work, not dream of a perfect fishing spot. Mako started to set up, setting the tank at the end of the dock where it seemed more sturdy, and wading out through the gross scum to get some “fresh” water. The water looked toxic, but as long as a fish could survive the day in it there wouldn’t be any problem. If someone buys a sick fish, it’s not his fault. The really unfortunate part was the fact that he was now covered in the shit from the waist down, and that was less than stellar. 

Desperate to get clean, Mako took a short trip to the cleaner part of the beach and rinsed off, coming back as soon as he was no longer a ball of slime. 

Now it was time to start getting to work. Mako cast out a net, throwing it as far as he could away from the gross part of the water. It was better if he just let it sit, some poor mutated fish would probably swim right into it and get themself caught if he just waited it out. In the meantime he reeled his arm back and started fishing.

The day chugged along slowly, he alternated between fishing and dealing with the net. Any fish he snagged went in the tank, using the less desirable to bait his hook. Live bait was sure to get him something good, and if he got enough throw away fish he might even be able to take em and chum the water, a shark would fill his bank account pretty nice depending on who's buying.

It was during his lunch that he noticed the tide going out, revealing all the scum covered creatures that get left behind in the tide pools that dotted the area around the dock. He didn’t think that the water would go out that far, but the earth was pretty high in some parts, with deep fissures here and there. Perhaps his luck was turning around, an octopus would be an amazing find if he could catch one. Lunch was going to have to wait, he pinched the salad container closed and tossed it in his lunch box, dusting bread crumbs off his chest. 

Mako was glad he stopped eating, because the feeling of slimy ocean scum was really turning his stomach over. Even though he was finding some great catches, it didn’t feel very rewarding. He tried to keep critters as separate as he could, between the two extra buckets he had brought and the bigger tank. Mako had enough know how that the fish weren’t actively slaughtering each other in their prisons.

A sound caught his ear, and he felt a small rush of excitement. It was something big, splashing around, probably caught in one of the deeper holes. He abandoned the angry crab he was trying to pin down and quickly made his way toward the sound. It was farther out, behind some rocks that had cut him off from another part of the beach, now accessible because of the low tide. As he got closer the louder the splashes got, it had to be something huge but what would be stupid enough to get so close to the beach with that kind of size.

It wasn’t until he rounded the rocks that he heard the cursing and hissing.

“Stupid fuckin’ useless fukin’ no good fucking garbage eating pile ah dogshit!” That wasn’t what Mako was expecting at all, what an accent, it almost made him homesick. He was frozen in place, wide eyed as he tried to figure out where the raging Australian was hiding.

This area of the beach was hardly in better shape, this time featuring a half submerged, mangled up ship, definitely older than Mako. It was weather worn and covered in barnacles and bird shit. The half of it that wasn’t sticking into the sky was still well soaked even with the receding water, but it was quite the sight.

“This is how I die ain’t it, baking in the sun like a damn grilled salmon!” There he was again, and the splashing had quieted too.

Mako took a hard look at the scum covered ground, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. It sounded like someone was in trouble, but he couldn’t find anyone. He stepped off of the rock he had been perched on, looking in each of the holes individually to find where the voice was coming from.

It didn’t take long for whoever to notice him.

“Oi! You! Pigface! I could use a little help over here!” Mako could see an arm closer to the ship, and he was tempted to turn around.

“Hurry up ya fat fuck! ‘M dying in here!” Oooh Mako was gonna save the guy alright, just so that he could squeeze the life out of him himself.

As he got closer he started to notice exactly what was happening. The arm that was waving at him had ripped up fins, and the hands were webbed together with sharp nails.

Oh that wasn’t remotely human. Not at all.

Mako approached the hole carefully. He wasn’t the type to believe myths and legends easily, but he’s heard lots of stories in his years and after hearing some stuff it makes you curious. If fifty people claim to have seen a mermaid, who's to say there couldn’t be a mermaid. If a scaled and slimy man reaches up for a hand, with clear evidence of something part fish going on, who’s to say there wasn’t an australian merman asking for help.

“What’r ya waiting for!? Come on come on come on!” The mer-thing was glaring up at him, eyes a radioactive yellow.

Mako had to step back and address this more clearly. In this hole was a person, from the waist down was murky water so he couldn’t see much, but what he could see was enough to classify him as non-human. The creature has human features though, blond water damaged hair, a human like face with fish fins where ears usually go, yep those are gills on his neck, there was the aforementioned ripped fin and webbed hand, the other arm wasn’t entirely there it was a stump at the elbow with a hook skewered in, more fish looking parts, scales. Yeah that was pretty mermaid enough to him.

“Look mate, I know you’re prolly starstruck from meetin a handsome devil like me, but I really gotta get out of this hole or else I’m fittin' to gnaw off my lower half, think you could help a guy out?” The merman was looking slightly more calm, but the look in his eyes was desperate and wild.

“Hm, why I don’t I just take you into town and sell you to the highest bidder?” Mako knew the stories, he wasn’t about to help the gross little fish goblin without getting something in return.

“Oh eat my hairy onions ya fuck face! Get me out of this damn thing already!” The merman clawed for Mako’s feet, desperately sloshing around in the scum. The fisherman couldn’t help but laugh at the poor creature, so hard that he was choking on his lungs again. Of course Mako has to meet the most graceless, ragged, half starved, grody, rat of the sea merman goblin. It couldn’t have been a busty, long haired mermaid covered in pearls and diamonds, asking him to turn her human and take her as his bride, it had to be this shrill voiced seagull.

After struggling for a couple minutes the merman let out a series of questionable grunts and cries before giving up, face down against the slimy rock. “Alright! Whatever goods I find are yours!” He lifted his head, eyes red, almost as if he was going to cry. “Just get me out of this fuckin hole!!” 

Mako doubled over in laughter, the thing was just so pitiful it hurt. After having himself a good laugh and catching his breath he grinned down at the sea rat, “Fine.” He had to stifle a smirk as the merman’s face lit up, and he easily heaved the thing out of the hole and into his arms.

The rest of him was just as he expected, all the way down to the torn up tail, crowned elegantly with a plastic 6-pack ring, cutting of the circulation. Mako had no idea what kind of fish species the thing was part of but he felt sorry for what it was supposed to be, because he had quite the color on him, underneath all the algae. There were hints of white and black, and the parts of fin that were still attached looked like lace, way too pretty to belong on this sea rat.

He was definitely light, despite how big he actually was. The merman must have been only half a foot shorter than Mako with all that fancy tail underneath him. The thing was pretty docile now that it wasn’t trapped in a hole, begrudgingly wrapping its arms around his neck to keep himself up.

“Now don’t go doin’ anythin’ funny alright? Just toss me in by my ship and I’ll get cha your reward for savin’ me and we’ll part ways, think of the stories eh pigface, meetin’ the handsomest damn merman this part of the world.” He was laughing, but it was more like a choked cackle.

Mako rolled his eyes, the stink from the creature had wafted up and made his stomach flip, and he caught fish for a living. It made him wanna dunk the sea rat as soon as possible, but mermaids are crafty fucks, and he wasn’t moving an inch.

“Eheh, why we stopped big fella? You uh, you know where the ship is doncha? Ain't blind are ya, here how many fingers?” The merman held up some fingers but Mako glared them away.

“What’s stopping you from taking off the minute I put you back in?” Mako raised an eyebrow, expecting more than just the creature’s word.

“Roight! Roight roight roight, well I guess I’ll tell ya seein’ as how you want me to dry out so bad,” a nervous giggle, “this here’s my home away from home! So I’m not really gonna up and disappear on ya, or else I’d be out of a place to sleep. Just ah, don’t tell anyone and I won’t run off, sound fair?”

Smart, but pretty stupid. If Mako knows he lives here all he has to do is put up a sign and charge people 20 bucks a peek, getting both the mermans treasures and some nice pocket change. But the sea rat has that pathetic look on his face again and Mako can hardly keep himself from snickering.

Without a word he started for the boat.

“Oh good, phew, thought you were gonna turn around and hand me to some stuffy lab coat and collect.” Relief washed over the merman as he wiped a webbed hand across his brow. He really was looking dried out, his lips were flaking and Mako has scales sticking to his arms.

It wasn’t a far walk, and Mako proceeded to do exactly as the sea rat suggested, dumping him into the water. He yelped.

“You ain’t gotta be so rough ya bastard!” The merman chastised him, now looking slightly more healthy than when he was stuck in that hole. It was a good sign he was still there, but time was starting to tick by and the waves would be coming back soon, plus he wasted enough time on this adventure.

“Get it.” Mako spoke plainly, looking at the ship. There was no way the fish wasn’t hiding something good in there, even if was something little.

“Yeah yeah, I’m going.” He rolled his eyes, disappearing underwater.

Mako didn’t like waiting, even though he was a patient man, especially when it came to money. He had bills to pay, and pachimari’s to buy, not to mention all the other stuff one needs. 

Thankfully it only took a few short minutes, and the sea rat was hauling a hole ridden backpack onto the shore.

“Here we go!” He threw it down, spilling it’s contents onto the beach.

It was gold, real gold, and handfuls of it. Mako could see jewelry too, and precious gems. Oh daddy was getting paid alright, and it was nice.

“I think I can afford your silence, roight pigface?” The sea rat looked smug, tail splashing behind him.

Mako pretended to look uninterested, crossing his arms and giving him a calculated nod of approval. Inside all he could think of was all the things he could do with that much cash.

The merman smiled, sharp teeth poking out of his grin, and shoved the spillage back in the bag and gestured to it, “She’s alllll yours ugly!”

Mako picked it up, cradling it carefully in his arm so that nothing would drop on his way back.

“Pleasure doing business with you…” he had no idea what his name was, for all he cared it was something gross like Junkrat, seeing as how the sea rat lived in this garbage heap of a beach willingly.

The merman didn’t make any syllables to answer his unspoken question, so instead Mako figured it’d be best to just leave the disgusting thing behind, and take his fortune home. Which is what he did. And he most definitely didn’t glance behind to take a look at the sea rat one more time when he got to the rocks, no way. Mako was going to forget, and pretend that he saved some busty mermaid who gave him her treasure because there was no earthly way he was going to think about that slimy little goblin and his pathetic face again.


	3. The Little Mermaid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having way too much fun writing this, thank you for all the comments and kudos, I hope I can deliver.

You would think getting a tank, two buckets, and a soaked backpack in a wagon back home would be easy for a guy built like Mako. All that muscle, the raw power, Mako was made for moving heavy stuff, just not through the underbrush. It took him half an hour to get out of there, when it had only taken him less than ten to get in. If it wasn’t a gold coin falling, it was the water splashing, and if it wasn’t that then it was some dumbass fish trying to make a break for it by vaulting out of the tank.

Then he had to deal with the afternoon, fresh from work, neighbors, bothering him about how cute a sea cucumber looked or how strange sea urchins are. He practically had to push people out of the way just so he could get home. God forbid anyone notice that he’s currently got an estimated value of **a fuck ton** of money in a raggedy backpack only inches away from that really cool looking starfish. Why did everyone in this damn town have to be so nosey?

___

 

The week following Mako’s abrupt success was a lot different than he expected. To be fair he didn’t really plan on the whole situation in the first place so the expectations couldn’t have been anything that really made sense in hindsight.

The first thing Mako did was trade in enough gold and jewelry to afford a high security safe, and insurance, then put all the remaining treasure in said safe. With that done he splurged on patchimaris and a new leather massage chair, to go along with his huge flatscreen that was currently being set up in his living room.

Mako also figured he could take a break from fishing for a little while, he could definitely use it. The slightly diseased fish he brought home grew on him, and instead of selling them he kept his favorites, cleaned up the tank and made his own little home for them. The sea slug was his favorite, it was pink, he named it Pinklet.

Life was being sweet to him for a chance, but the neighbors were nosey as ever. Mako had to tell them he fixed up some rich suit’s car and earned a pretty penny just to get them off his back, and nobody pried him any further. That was the thing about the neighbors, as annoyingly friendly as they were nobody ever went searching in anyone’s garbage cans looking for trouble. It was the kind of place you go to forget about the past after all, when you want to stay hidden.

Speaking of garbage Mako hadn’t set foot on the beach once since his fortune, especially not in that gross little cove with the sea rat and his sunken ship. He was giving that a wide berth, pretend there’s no merman and there wasn’t any merman.

Which is why he stopped dead in his tracks after hearing a shrill giggle as he carried an armful of patchimari blind boxes to the register. It wasn’t possible, but there was only one person he’s ever heard make that kind of sound and they were hardly even a person at all. 

“So I told ‘em he could stuff it where the sun don’t shine and the guy nearly punched my lights out!” Another seagull laugh, joined with another familiar chuckle.

“Man! How do you even manage? You gotta stop antagonizing them, or you’re gonna get eaten one of these days!” Lucio laughed, walking out of the isle five feet away from where Mako stood, with a lanky sea rat hobbling behind.

Mako couldn’t move, there was that hook arm, and a peg leg, but nothing even remotely fishy about the merman. His hair was dry, it even looked silky smooth, slicked up like that. Those radioactive eyes were wide, his mouth gaping as they stared at each other, too shocked to move.

“Yo ‘Hog! Did the new series come out already?” Lucio had his hand up, clearly expecting a high five, but brushed it off after he noticed the lack of response from the giant. “What? Oh! You two know each other or something? What’s uh??” The poor kid looked extremely confused, even more so at the fact nobody was saying anything to him.

Nope, no this wasn’t gonna happen. Pretend he’s not here, buy the little figures and leave. Don’t open your mouth, don’t even think about addressing the fact that there was a merman at the bookstore, 30 minutes away from that rotted ship and trash heap of a beach.

Mako tried to leave as politely as he could, waving slightly at Lucio as he turned around, and continued his trek to the register.

“Oi! Wait ya pigfaced bastard!” The sea rat actually sounded annoyed, annoyed enough to put a hand on his shoulder and prove to Mako that this was a real thing that was happening to him right now and in fact, not pretend.

He could hear Lucio try to stop the fish out of water, the kid was smart, you don’t go grabbing seven foot cement walls and calling them shit like pigfaced bastard unless you were ready to start something. Mako was a patient man though, so he turned and looked the merman in the face, coldly shrugging off the hand.

“I don’t have any business with rats.” He frowned down at him.

This had the hunched over seagull gaping for a response, appalled by the insult. “Ooooh I have the mind to bash ya somethin’ good roight now mate,” he was grinning, “maybe then someone could recognise that face as somethin’ human, think it’ll hurt a big fella like you?”

The merman was playing with fire, and loving it. Mako ran a hand over his mouth, attempting to subtly hide the snort of laughter that slipped out. Of course this didn’t work, because Lucio was looking at him like the guy just resurrected Jesus Christ of Nazareth on the third day.

“Whaaaat is haaaapening?” The delivery boy droned out, looking back and forth between the two.

The sea rat’s face twisted up, and whimpers of laughter started to bubble out until he was howling, bent in half, clutching Mako’s thick forearm for support. Mako wasn’t in better shape, trying not to laugh was only making it worse, and soon enough he was bellowing out just as loudly, always ending with that horrible coughing, but it felt so good to laugh like that.

“Seriously guys! What is happening!” Lucio looked almost scared, unsure if he should be joining in on whatever the two were doing or to put himself in the middle and stop a really really awful fight.

“Luce, this, ahaha! This is the guy! The ugly fella that blackmailed me!” He was completely out of breath, but managed to stop giggling enough to get out a few sentences. 

Mako was trying to catch his breath, wheezing. This was the last thing he expected, and it was just as hilarious as meeting the disgusting merman in that slimy hole on the beach. The fisherman didn’t even know what the punchline was, but he hadn’t laughed that hard in months.

“What!?” Lucio’s face scrunched up, almost more confused, “Hog did?”

“Yeah! Almost let me die out there in the sun just ta get somethin’ outta me!” The merman was as happy as could be, almost like he enjoyed it.

“You’re kidding!” The kid looked him over, then gestured wildly with open palms, “There ain’t a bone in this guys body that could do something like that, jus-just look at him!” He grabbed one of the boxes Mako was carrying, “He’s collecting patchimaris! Patchimaris!! There’s nothing more innocent than that, except for those pig plushies, but still!”

“Where?” Mako’s brain shut off for a minute, he needed whatever Lucio was selling right now.

“Focus pigface,” the merman snapped his fingers in front of his face, and he was so close to breaking his hand. “I’m tellin’ ya he did, didn’t ya?” He was looking up at him, yellow eyes grinning.

“Uh,” Mako nodded, shifting where he stood. He really wanted to go look for those plushies.

“So he knows then?” Lucio crossed his arms, headphones askew around his neck.

“No of course not, I just got my ass stuck in a hole with the leg settings on-of course he knows!” Junkrat huffed, Mako remained stone face as much as he could, remembering the fitting nickname he gave him.

“Dude, that’s serious.” The kid frowned.

“That’s why I blanked when I saw the guy, probably scared him all the way past his expiration date I’d say, the way he was lookin’ at me.” He snickered up at Mako, who raised a single eyebrow in response. Older yes, not that old.

“Are you gonna get grilled by your parents about it? What if he says something?” Lucio sounded intense, but he didn’t have anything to worry about, nobody would believe him even if he said something.

“That ain’t gonna be a problem, roight pifgface?” Junkrat smirked, actually pulling a real ruby from his dirty ass cargo shorts and slipping it into his palm. 

Just great, his sugar daddy was a twink little rat fucker who sometimes had a leg and other times had a fish tail and looked like he didn’t know what a bath was even for (smelled like it too). Money is money though, and he pocketed the gem, giving a tiny thumbs up.

“See! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! I love it!” The merman swung an arm around Mako, like the two of them were best pals.

That was when Mako checked out, easily pulling away to go back to shopping. Whatever was happening was something he just didn’t want any part of. He didn’t need a sea rat coming into his life and asking about his business any more than anyone else. He’s not gonna turn down free money, but there was no way he was gonna become friends with the guy, at least any time soon.

Mako could feel the disappointment radiating from Junkrat, which made his shoulders shake at how hooked the guy was on him. Seriously, what the fuck was this guy's deal, he’s a merman but can have legs sometimes and is fine with giving Mako gold and rubies just so he’ll stay quiet about something he’s hundred percent positive no one would believe him about anyway because even Mako doesn’t think it’s real. It was like a waking fever dream that wasn’t going away.

After procuring a basket and dumping all the boxes and plushies into it, Mako returned to the register, finally able to purchase his collectables. Ignoring things was always his go to strategy, and it always worked for these kinds of problems. Getting stared at? Ignored. Getting laughed at? Ignored. Trying to become friends with him? Blocked and ignored.

Mako wondered for a minute if the sea rat was still here.

____

 

Okay maybe a week and a half vacation was enough for Mako, because he already ran out of shows to watch and maybe he missed the routine. It wasn’t because he missed the merman that was for fucking sure. Clearly he didn’t because he didn’t even go during low tide, he went right after, only bringing a fishing rod and his fancy new sunglasses. He also just happened to kind of like the idea of the private beach, and that was the only reason why he was there, to have fun fishing in silence.

It wasn’t his fault if the sea rat showed up, it was coincidence. 

“G’day ya ugly fuck!” What a coincidence, Junkrat’s gross algae covered head poked out of the scum.

“I got a name you know,” Mako was one to talk.

“Out with it then mate.” The sea rat was making grabby hands up at the fisherman, did he want to be picked up?

“Mako, but,” his brows furrowed, the guy wasn’t putting his arms down, grinning up at him and wiggling his fingers, “Lucio calls me Roadhog.”

“Roadhog matches that pigface ah yours.” He snickered. “Help me up already Hog! C’mon buddy!”

“Weren’t you the one complaining about drying out the other day?” Mako rolled his eyes.

“Well yeah! It was hot! Plus I’d been stuck like that for half an hour, a couple ah minutes ain’t gonna kill me, I’m too strong.” Junkrat flexed his muscles, Mako would be impressed if the creature wasn’t a merman and was constantly swimming in the ocean for long stretches of time.

Mako gave in to those hilariously pathetic eyes and pulled him up, setting him on the dock next to him. “I’m not your buddy.” Saying something like that doesn’t make it true, but he hoped it would put off the rat.

“Ah course not,” he patted him on the back, “just a couple a blokes, sittin’. Not thinkin’ about nothin’.” The hand lingered for a moment too long, suspicious.

They sat together for a while, Junkrat spouting word after word about nothing in particular, but always had something to say. It was nice, at least he had something to listen to while he fished. The guy wasn’t hurting anything, silence was overrated wasn’t it. It was even kinda fun, Mako would catch something that looked diseased and Junkrat would point at it and say ‘that you’ which would prompt Mako to hit him. 

At the moment Junkrat was gnawing on a raw fish, which was just as slimy as the water he caught it from.

“What are you?” It was the first time he’d said anything in awhile, the sea rat looked up at him, wiping fish guts off his face with the back of his hand.

“Are you fuckin’ daft? I’ma goddamn merman mate.” He gave him a look, taking another bite of fish.

“No, I mean what are you,” Mako pointed to his tail this time.

“OH! Ya can’t tell eh?” The merman grinned, and kicked his tail in the water, mangled fins fluttering in the breeze. “A betta fish, whole family is, even down to the second cousins and the twice removed. Ain’t a single Fawkes that didn’t come out looking all handsome and sparkly with these big things.” He entertained himself with that for a few more moments, watching the light bounce off of his scales.

“Fawkes?”

“Last name, wasn’t sure if you were gonna ask if I had a first one so I wasn’t gonna say nothin’.” Junkrat batted his eyelashes, a smirk playing across his cheeks.

“Oh, I wasn’t even sure if you had one until I saw you at the store.” Mako mumbled, casting out his line.

“Of course I do-wait!” He gasped louder than anyone has ever gasped, hands frantically patting Mako’s arm. “You didn’t name me did you!? What is it come on! Tell me!” The sea rat was beaming, grinning ear to ear.

“Stop that,” Mako chuckled, “it’s nothing special, I didn’t know what else to call you.” He had to bat the hands away, feeling kinda ridiculous that he thought the guy didn’t even have a name. Of course he had one, and it was apparently something human and probably less garbage related. “It’s Junkrat alright-”

“Holy shit.” The merman’s face was red, was he embarrassed? Honestly it was kinda cute, endearing, maybe Mako really was stupid.

“I just thought you looked like a rat when you were in that hole and-” He tried to explain himself, maybe make the situation a little better.

“No! No I like it, I get it! You can uh, you can keep callin’ me that if you want,” he was even redder, this time trying his best to look both at Mako and in the opposite direction. Wow that was some reaction to being called a trash animal.

“I’d like to know your name anyway, seems fair, I should of asked sooner.” There was a fish on the line, maybe he should let it go.

“Yeah,” he splashed the water with his tail, not looking up, “It’s Jamie.”

“Jamie huh?” What a normal name for someone like him.

They fell into a comfortable silence, the merman didn’t really have anything to say now. The sun moved across the sky and Junkrat was in and out of the water, bothering the local wildlife then bothering Mako.

“Hey why does Lucio call you Hog? Luce seems to think you're the antisocial type, and that you don’t really like ‘em all that much, but here he is givin’ ya nicknames and shit.” Jamie was peeking out of the scum again, algae was like a second skin to him it seemed.

“It isn’t really a nickname, and he didn’t think it up if that counts. He just read it off one of the wanted posters.” 

“Wanted posters? What are ya, some sort of thug then?” He had his arms up again, and Mako didn’t hesitate to pull him up this time.

“Used to be,” he shrugged, “got too old, too tired. Can’t run around playing games forever.”

“Ahh, says who eh? Fat load of good that’s gonna do ya, what, you fittin’ to just sit around this dock the rest of your life? Boooring.” The merman laid down on the dock, hands behind his head as he relaxed.

“You ever kill a man before?” Mako grinned.

“Oh loads of ‘em mate, am I a merman or aren’t I? Used to blow up ships for a livin’. Pretty little new navy recruit walks in, sets up a corner full of explosives, lights the whole thing up, KABOOM! and I swim away without a scratch, well usually at least.” Jamie looked very full of himself.

To be honest, not exactly what he was expecting, but it didn’t really surprise him. “How old are you?”

“Mako! Never ask a shiela her age, don’t you know how to be a gentleman?” He giggled, probably really proud of his amazingly hilarious joke. “Is complicated an answer? We merfolk ain’t really the type of creature that goes by mother nature’s laws. I guess damn old would have to do.”

“Older than me?”

“Nobody’s older than the dinosaurs ya faerie!”

Mako was laughing again, and so was Junkrat. The two of them were quite the pair honestly, already thick as thieves. The fisherman had to admit though, Jamie was quite the catch, and he enjoyed hanging out with him all day. Maybe it was just some mermaid spell, or even better a curse, but Mako wouldn’t mind more days like today. Just the two of them, on this private little beach of theirs.


	4. Jaws

Mako wouldn’t say it out loud, but this new routine was really growing on him. Only a couple days a week he would fish, spending the entire afternoon with Jamie the sea rat. On his off days he’d spend time at home, leisurely reading a book, enjoying the quiet. A week after this new schedule Mako asked Lucio if he wanted to make a couple extra bucks on the weekends helping him clean the beach up, the kid was definitely ready and willing to take his money.

Things were going okay, which was strange for Mako. He was hanging out with a merman, a real merman, and it wasn’t even that weird, it felt so normal at this point, as if this had always been his life. 

Of course, all good things come to a screeching halt, literally.

“Roadie!!” Jamie squealed, jumping straight out of the water, knocking the wind out of the man. It took some deep breaths to get his lungs back in order, and when he did the merman looked both concerned and frantic. “We gotta go, now!”

Mako was about to ask why, but the way Jamie looked over his shoulder at whatever was behind him made his fight or flight instincts kick in and he scooped up the sea rat and bolted toward the underbrush. 

“You insufferable monster! Give it back you thieving devil!” The voice was thundering, a clear japanese accent. Mako didn’t recognize it but Jamie sure as hell did, clinging tighter to his chest.

“Jamie,” Mako’s voice was stern, but there was no way he was going to just give the merman up to whatever was snapping palm trees in half behind them.

“I-I didn’ think he’d really notice eheheheh, it was just a little thing ya see? An-and it’s not like I can just hand it over the guy’s gonna kill me if I get too close!” He was staring at the thing over his shoulder, trembling both in fear and excitement.

There was something clutched in his hand, and there was more jewelry on the merman than he’s ever seen. Actually he looked clean-ish, and it wasn’t from the slightly less algae covered beach, he was scrubbed clean, probably unwillingly too. For once he could properly see the black and white patterns on his scales, noticing that there were more scars than he expected a guy like him to have. That plastic ring was still wrapped around his tail, did mermen not have scissors or was it just an accessory?

“Oh boy, am I gonna have it later,” he was cackling, even waved at the fucking thing behind them.

Mako was getting exhausted, he wasn’t used to running to much, they had to shake it off somehow or else he’d be taking a one way trip to the hospital, in a body bag.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas on how to get out of this would you?” There was fluid in his lungs, and his voice was gruff.

“Yes I do!” Jamie stuck out his tongue as he pried a tight ring from his finger. “Hey mustache! Fetch!” He tossed the glittering emerald as far as he could in the direction of the ocean and the creature made a sharp turn, the rumbling slowly fading away. Mako didn’t stop running until he heard a large splash, then practically dropped Junkrat as he collapsed.

It hurt, his chest was on fire and it was a struggle to breathe. He couldn’t even think about Jamie, hand shoved down his pocket as he fumbled to grab an inhaler. He took a deep breath of the medicine, the tightness slowly going away as he exhaled. At least it was better, but the rest of him ached from hauling Jamie’s fish ass all the way to wherever the hell they ended up.

“You alright big guy?” Junkrat may have been clean before, but he sure as shit wasn’t now. It wasn’t sandy this far away from the beach, and it had rained the day before so the area was just mud and dead leaves. It was such a shame, but he looked normal this way, always covered in something gross. “Take all the time ya need, but that ain’t gonna entertain em for long.”

“You didn’t give it back to him!?” Mako glared at him, Jamie shrugged. Whatever, it didn’t matter now, his relaxing day was now replaced with thievery and being the only getaway car for the guy without legs. “What-” he took a breath to get his thoughts in order, “-who is he? Do we need to get out of town?” He pushed himself out of the mud, his clothes were filthy now.

“Noo nonono no noo, we can just crash with Lucio, the guy can’t risk going there, not with all the stupid politics going on. Just gotta lay low for the time being.” Jamie was talking as if any of the things he said made any sense to Mako. “Gimme ya shirt mate.” He was doing the stupid grabby hands again.

“No.”

“I need it!”

“ **Why**?”

“So I’m not naked!” Jamie was determined, and Mako had no idea why, but he threw him the thing anyway, wasn’t like he was going to keep it after this anyway. Shifting to face the other way, Jamie took the necklace that was wrapped around his wrist and put it around his neck, turning the stone over three times. Mako could feel a quick poof! of air, and watched the scales on Junkrat’s body shed off at once, fins peeling off like horribly attached latex prosthetics. This was stupid, the whole thing was stupid.

Jamie pulled on the huge shirt, practically drowning in it, and stood as best as he could on a single human leg. There was no peg leg this time, just half a leg sticking out as he tried to balance. More grabby hands, and Mako begrudgingly picking him up again.

“Care to explain what the hell is going on?” Mako grumbled, walking in the direction Junkrat pointed.

“Alright so my dad was having his fancy under the sea get together roight? Had to force me to go, so ah course I wasn’t gonna be any kind of civil at this stupid party.” He figured. “Then I saw this guy I ain’t ever seen before, the only one wearing any sort of proper clothes which is ridiculous roight cause we were underwater, plus it was one ah them man kimonos, and he sure was a looker. I tried chattin’ em up a bit, but he wasn’t having it-”

“So you stole something from him?” Mako couldn’t believe the guy, but it sure was one way to get someone’s attention.

“Yeah yeah I get it, not my best plan, but yeah I swiped something off of em, just wanted to mess around a little, I was gonna give it back I swear.” The grin on his face was hardly believable, but Jamie didn’t have to prove anything to him, he didn’t care. “Then when I was halfway across the room he starts hollering! Makin’ a huge scene an’ everything so of course I bolt, which only made it worse. When I got outside I thought maybe I could just go to shore, get the higher ground, maybe talk em down a little bit but that’s when the tables turned cause guess what? The guy was a fuckin’ **dragon**! Scared me outta my mind to see him all big like that!”

No wonder he was trembling, Mako kinda wished he could see what he looked like. Was he like an eastern dragon? Jamie said something about a mustache, maybe he looked like one of those chinese dragons with the long bodies. If that thing was swimming at him he’d probably shit himself too.

“What did you even take?” Junkrat hadn’t opened his hand yet, at least so that he could see, and it was starting to bug him, he just wanted to know what would make someone throw a fit like that.

“It wasn’t even nothin’! Look!” A wooden ring? That’s it? “I know roight? Had it on his thumb too, shit quality, like a kid made it.” It did look rough around the edges, some parts were thinner than others and even though it was clearly sanded down some it wasn’t the best.

“Where are we going?” To be completely honest Mako didn’t even know if Lucio lived in town or not, he only saw him delivering packages all day, most of em coming his way lately. It wasn’t like he cared about the kid enough to know, he was just the delivery boy.

“Oh yeah, so you know that big stretch of forest on the road you take to get into town?” Mako nodded. “There, it’s actually kinda cool, like the kinda place Robin Hood would live, with the merry men and stuff ya know?”

Mako didn’t exactly understand what Jamie was putting down, so there’s some secret society in the woods? Lucio lives in the woods? Maybe he should start paying him a little more, that can’t be good.

“Just uh, try not to stare, it spooks the horses.” That sent him into a shrieking giggling fit, he was afraid to ask exactly what that meant.

Lucio knew about Junkrat didn’t he, maybe he was a merman too, like a swampman, or a river merman. Mako had been brushing up on his mermaid lore recently, out of curiosity, and there were those mermaids that were like, also part horse? Could Lucio be a ridiculous horse fish hybrid? That sounded so fucking stupid it made Mako’s head hurt.

The rest of the walk was filled with Jamie’s usual nonsense, spouting about tv shows or movies he’d like to see, telling stories about old shenanigans. They didn’t hear any rumbling or dragon roars so that was good, it wasn’t exactly super easy to carry Jamie for so long. Speaking of Jamie, now that they had time he could look him over more properly.

There really was quite an array of jewelry decorating the sea rat, considering he’d never seen any on him before. Junkrat was currently wiping dirt off of a chain sash that was resting on his hips earlier, it was sparkling with precious jewels. In his ears were a sporadic amount of earrings, which he did notice when they were those weird fins before. Everything was made of gold, and there was at least one ring on every finger, some of them even had two or three. It must of been the mermaid equivalent of getting dressed up, but just seeing the dollar signs decorating Jamie got him a little excited.

“How do you do it?” Mako had to focus on something else, and he decided that something else was the weird stone necklace with the leather cord that was hanging from his neck.

“Family secret Roadie,” he winked, “not just any ol’ drongo can grow legs, it’s a birthright.”

“Dumb secret if I watch you do it,” he smirked, fighting a grin.

“Then why’d ya ask?” Jamie giggled at him, rubbing a muddy finger down his face, practically crying at the look Mako gave him.

With only a couple instructions Mako brought the merman into a clearing, suddenly hearing and seeing everything at once. It really did look like some Robin Hood bullshit, tree huts and tents, there were generators and christmas lights hanging from the trees. There were plenty of real houses, but they were sparse, most of them being old wooden buildings and sprinkled with bits of technology. It was completely bizarre, had this always been here?

“Anyone seen Lucio!? I got in trouble again!” Jamie yelled over the noise, there were quite a few people outside, probably out of preference than anything else.

“Whoo-wee ain’t you a sight Jamie, forgot to get yourself dressed this mornin’?” Mako heard him before he saw him, which was surprising given that a fucking cowboy centaur just walked up to the two of them. Ah, horses. Of course he had meant centaurs. Why would anything normal ever be related to Jamie. Getting back to the cowboy part of this mess, Mako was actually genuinely weirded out for the first time he met a merman.

This wasn’t even the kind of place to even pretend to be a cowboy, it was a little refugee camp by the beach, the opposite of a Texas desert. It could of been like a horse thing, maybe the guy just really liked that Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy song. Hell, maybe he **was** from Texas, it would explain the hat and holy shit, he’s wearing a belt that says BAMF across it. This guy was way worse than Jamie, he was a fucking weirdo.

“Piss off horse fucker, where’s Luce?” Jamie had that look on his face, they must be friends then.

“Not to rain on your parade darlin’ but I gotta ask about yer big friend here, watcha name sir?” The 21st century cowboy leaned down, but only a little, he was bigger than Mako just not that big.

“Mako,” he set Junkrat down, figuring they’d be there for a minute. “Howdy.” Junkrat tried not to laugh, but failed completely.

“Well we don’t take too kindly to strangers round these parts, and I sure ain’t never seen you with the merman before so don’t take much offence when I ask you what a human like you is doing here.” The centaur’s horse feet fidgeted, tail flicking, and the smile plastered on his face was anything but friendly.

“Oi he’s with me _now_ ain’t he? Roadie’s my new bodyguard! Just saved me from a dragon!” Jamie was using him to balance, patting him on the shoulder.

“A dragon?” The cowboy stiffened, eyes blowing wide as he took off his hat, clutching it to his chest. “Don’t tell me-Jamie!” Now he was mad, face scrunched up. “You’re usin’ us to hide again aren’tcha!? Goddamn coward ass flounder,” he grumbled, putting his hat back on his head. What a drama queen.

Junkrat shrugged, “I didn’t lie, I said I was in trouble again.”

“You know how things are with us an’ them, you can’t go around startin’ fights you can’t win!” 

“Ain’t my fault, plus you’re the one with the dragon problem, don’t see why the two of you don’t just kiss ‘n make up already.” Jamie snickered.

“What happened between us ain’t none of your business Jamison, now I think you better take your fancy new bodyguard and your pretty little royal ass out of here and-”

“McCree they’re fine! Let me deal with it!” Lucio was stomping up, another surprise after this was gonna have Mako desensitized to anymore of this bullshit.

Delivery boy was apparently more than he seems, because he had two cloven hooves and two tiny little horns, clear signs of satyr-dom. 

“I know he’s yer friend but we can’t jus-”

“Go cool off McCree, I don’t think you get what’s happening here.” Lucio was glaring at him, something Mako never expected to see from the high on life teenager.

McCree tipped his hat and walked off with his tail between his legs, mumbling to himself. He half expected the pressure to be off, but now that glare was directed at Jammie, who looked like he would rather go hunt down the dragon than deal with the shit storm that was brewing. 

The silence was heavy, nobody moved, nobody dared to blink under the pressure. Then suddenly it was gone, Lucio let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his dreads. “Maaan Jamie, you sure know how to fuck with people don’t you?” There was a tired smile on his face.

“What can I say, it’s a talent.” Junkrat had pepped right back up, then patted Mako’s shoulder signalling he should pick him up.

Lucio escorted them through the secret village while Junkrat explained the situation again. The kid didn’t even look surprised, admitting he expected him to get into some deep shit like that.

“We can probably keep you for a couple days, but I don’t know if it’ll even be that long when the guy finds out where you are.” They were walking into one of the bigger buildings, it was just like any other normal house, but probably more accommodating for the type of creatures that lived there.

“Why’s that mate?” Mako dropped him on one of the couches, and Lucio came back with a cheap looking peg leg, different from the one he had before, and some clothes.

“That ring was a gift from his brother, his dead brother.”

Oh. Whoops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to happen, there's trouble brewing >:3c


	5. Robin Hood: Men in Tights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of fatherly conflict in this chapter, specifically about sexuality, just a little heads up. Meanwhile my chapter titles are sucking more and more lol so there's that. A bit late, but I don't really have a schedule for this anyway.

“Wait just a minute mate, how would you even know that? It’s just a stupid looking ring, what, does it have fuckin’ ‘rest in pieces bro’ engraved on it or somethin’?” Junkrat was thoroughly inspecting the thing.

“Because,” Lucio swiped the ring out of his hand, “I know who you’re talking about idiot. There’s only one dragon still skirts the borders like that, and your dad is totally trying to get in good with him. Probably wanted him to see you looking all fancy.” 

“Wot?” Junkrat blinked, taking a look at himself. Mako had to admit the merman looked his best like this, disheveled and covered in jewels, not that he was thinking of anything other than that he looked nice. Junkrat’s brows were knit tightly together as he tried to figure out what that could've meant, and he could see steam rising from his muddy face as it clicked. “That shit guzzling bastard, I’m gonna bash his fuckin’ teeth in next time I see em I swear!” This was more than just mad, the merman looked like he was ready to kill someone. “He was just fuckin’ screamin’ at me the night before about fuckin’ some stupid joke ah made, now here he is pawning me off to some fuckin’ slinky with a mustache!?” The pegleg was the only thing that made it on before he was pacing, hands combed through his damaged blond hair, tugging hard.

This is when things clicked with Mako, and for once the pathetic look on the sea rat’s face didn’t make him laugh, he almost felt empathetic. Actually, he started to become furious, they were mermaids, pretty much nobody believed they even existed and here he is having the guts to say who or what Jamie should bed? That was wrong, using him for something as shallow as getting ahead in some weird mythical politics.

“Yo just chill, maybe I’m wrong I dunno his motives, there coulda been someone else at that party-”

“But there wasn’t! Just the usual suits, what a load of horse shit!” Junkrat kicked the coffee table with his pegleg, then started pulling out earring after earring, throwing them onto the glass. “I’m going back, I ain’t gonna let him get away with somethin’ like this, I’m only a century younger than him I can do what I want, when I want! Ain’t nobody gonna use me ever again!” Not even half clothed, he was ready to walk out the door, and give his shitty parents what was coming.

“Jamie!” Mako’s voice cut through the house, and he stood tall, face tense.

Junkrat had stopped, but wouldn’t turn around. It wasn’t his business, he knew it, but there was no way he was gonna let the merman go back out there while there was a dragon ready to gut him.

“This has nothin’ to do with you Roadie, I can handle myself.”

“No.” He stayed firm, and he could see the way Jamie clenched his fists. “We stay here, give the ring back, then you can deal with it.”

Lucio made a move to comfort the merman, but Mako stopped him. It wasn’t the right time, it would only make the guy angrier.

For the first time since he met him, Junkrat was quiet, the bad kind of quiet. It felt like waiting for a bomb to go off, counting down every second before it exploded in an angry red blaze. This time it was a dud, “Fine.” It was a firm word, but nothing like what he had expected.

What he did expect came next, when the merman stormed past the two of them and disappeared down a hallway. There was a loud slam, then silence.

“Shiiiitt, shouldn’t have said nothin’, I thought he knew.” Lucio plopped down on the chair next to where Mako had been sitting, which he also returned to.

It was one of those rare times that Mako wanted to know exactly how to fix things. Not that he cared for the guy, he just felt for that kind of situation. Back in the day he remembered what it felt like, being trapped under the iron fist of a dad who could give less of a shit about what you wanted and more of what he could get out of you. Nobody stopped and asked what he wanted, and instead of confronting anyone Mako did the cowardly thing to do, ran away on his motorcycle and joined a gang with his boyfriend. It was kind of weird, the two of them only met a couple weeks ago and they already had so much in common it was starting to scare him. Jamie made him want to spill those long kept secrets, made him remember things he wanted to forget, and the guy hadn’t even once asked him about any of it.

Junkrat wasn’t coming out anytime soon, so Mako decided it’d be best to take the tour of Camp Half-Blood and take his thoughts back to the present. Lucio didn’t stop him, so he figured as long as he didn’t leave, or stick his nose in anywhere he didn’t belong, things would be okay.

It was pretty hot out, now that he had the time to notice that kind of thing. The mud was cracked and crumbling off his arms, and the breeze felt nice on his exposed stomach. He scratched at his chest, looking over the strange village. It really wasn’t at all what he expected, there were all different kinds of mythical creatures roaming about, most of them were the kind that looked extremely non-human. 

“First time huh?” There was a gorilla speaking to him. “It really is quite spectacular to see. Not many of us can walk around like you humans do, so the few that live here really appreciate it, I know I do.” 

Mako could feel the stupidity more than he could feel appreciation but he wasn’t going to say that out loud because he didn’t want to get his ass kicked by this glasses wearing talking gorilla that was hunched over next to him. Not to mention the only reason why he felt like this was stupid was because there was a gorilla talking to him about a Robin Hood camp full of mythical creatures only a few miles from where he lived that he only found out about today.

“The name’s Winston, I saw you come in with Jamie earlier.” The gorilla shook his hand, it felt weird.

“Mako.” Ignoring this was out of the question, because the gorilla was wearing pants, as well as a shirt. He could feel his brain cells dying.

“This must be pretty new to you, nobody’s ever mentioned you around here before. Would you like a tour?” Winston smiled at him.

Actually, Mako was going to say no, but there was a cheer and a gasp above him that made his skin crawl. Not again, not another one-

“What in the blazes are you doing here!? I didn’t know you knew!” Descending from the sky were a small pack of harpies, and one of them was the woman he thought was an ex-pilot, but now he figured she must of meant something else when she talked about flying.

“I didn’t.” Mako coughed, her dissent was kicking up a hell of a lot of dirt.

“Oh! Well how’d you find yourself here then?” Lena was wearing bright orange goggles, which suited her pretty well. Her arms were wings at the moment, brown and white feathers, and she was extremely tiny compared to the ape and the fisherman. 

“He came here with Jamie, I heard McCree giving them an earful before I managed to get Lucio to break them up.” Winston sat back into his hips, maybe he was tired of standing like that, Mako always did wonder what gorillas felt like when they walked on all fours.

“Jamie huh? Never thought a guy like you’d ever be interested in someone like that eh?” Lena was nudging him with her winged elbow, winking. “Have the two of you been gettin’ into a lotta trouble then?”

“No, he’s been bothering me while I fish.” Mako didn’t want her to get any impressions, the woman was already constantly telling him he needs to find someone to talk to, but never anything like dating, maybe Jamie had a reputation for sleeping around, the merman wasn’t exactly Mako levels of ugly.

“Oooh, you musta found his little hideaway and now he’s stuck to ya! Isn’t that something!” She was beaming, probably proud that he’s made a friend.

He’d take an angry Jamie over this cutesy little bonding session any day. Being the man of few words he decided he would take his leave, not before messing up Lena’s perfectly styled hair, which she yelled at him for. 

It seemed like everything was different than he thought, like suddenly the world was a new place with completely different people in it. His delivery boy was a satyr, the woman with car trouble was a harpy, there was a talking gorilla and a cowboy centaur living in the woods, a merman with family trouble was his best friend and Mako didn’t once ask for any of this information. All of it just fell into his lap, just like everything always did.

Maybe he wasn’t thinking it the right way, maybe he was just being an old cynical bastard with no sense of adventure. The world was so different and here he was wanting to go home and knit while watching cartoons in silence, where there wasn’t any of this weird, stupid, fairy tale garbage. Sure maybe he wanted Junkrat to stay but that was the exception, and it had nothing to do with the little gifts he gave em, or the fact that he was a merman. If only everything was normal, and he met Jamie as a person, would he have to deal with all the other weird shit still?

Of course he would, because Jamie was a merman, and not a human.

“Stupid sea rat,” he growled it out before he even thought about saying it. Everything was different, and Mako just had to accept it. It could be stupid and the truth, it wasn’t mutually exclusive.

Whatever, enough of this.

“Jamie.” Mako was knocking on the door he assumed the merman was still locked behind. No answer. “Junkrat!”

“What? I was just tryina unlock the damn thing, ain’t gotta shout! Sheesh,” Junkrat stood in the doorway, still wearing his mud stained shirt.

“Put some clothes on,” he frowned.

“Why? View ain’t good enough for ya?” Jamie posed, the neck hole sliding off of one shoulder. No this is the opposite of what he wanted to think about, he just came back to make sure the guy wasn’t crying or something.

“It’s cold,” was the only excuse he could even remotely use in this situation.

“Aw Roadies a big softie aincha? What made you start caring about me being cold ‘n stuff, was it the daddy issues?” The sea rat wasn’t acting like himself, which really put him off. He was probably miffed at Mako still after all.

This wasn’t going to fly with him, the merman was apparently extremely old yet here he was acting like a petulant child when Mako was right about to try and cheer him up. He grabbed one of those boney arms, and yanked him forward, forcing Junkrat to follow him.

“Wha-what are you doing you fuckin’ drongo, let go ah me!” Jamie tried resisting, pulling on his arm, gnawing at his fingers.

They went back into the living room, Lucio was gone, he wasn’t even sure if the kid was there when he had gotten back. With ease, Mako threw him into the couch and pointed, “Stay.” He glared him down, only walking away when he knew Jamie wasn’t going to get up.

Jamie was even more huffy than ever, arms crossed as he sulked. Mako ignored him, and went into the kitchen. It only took a minute before he heard the tv turn on, and the merman was quickly preoccupied in that.

This was good, Mako could get to work. To be honest, he had no idea whose house this was, or if it was like a communal thing, but he assumed the fact that they could stay there a couple days meant they were free to use the place as they saw fit. Right now Mako was hungry, and he could bet that Jamie would be too, so he started to raid the place to find a decent meal.

Only once did Jamie get up, and that was to peek his head in after he smelled dinner. “Whatcha doin’ in here Roadie-” A fat finger pointed back to the couch, and he slunk away with another fussy huff. 

After a good while the food was finally done, and he started to bring it out to the coffee table one plate at a time. It was a full spread: fried rice, chicken wings, sauteed vegetables, the works. Mako wasn’t much of a meat eater personally, but he knew what Junkrat liked, and he was going to enjoy it or else.

The merman’s face lit up at each dish, every time Mako came back with another plate he only got more excited. That was great, it’s what he wanted.

“Roadie I-”

“Eat,” first, is what he wanted to say. They could talk later, or maybe even not at all. It was up in the air, but it wasn't necessary.

Junkrat didn’t need to be told twice, and the two of them stuffed themselves full. Jamie was back to his pointless yammering, mostly about how good the food was. He talked about how much he didn’t usually care if food tasted good, but this was a real treat. That was good, Mako wanted him to feel better, especially when he didn’t really know how most of the time. At least this worked, it was always a good idea to eat good food with someone else.

“You ain’t mad that I’m a fairy?” It came out of left field, Junkrat was ripping into a chicken wing.

“Not if you don’t mind that I was married to a man.”

“What!?” He almost choked, his eyes blown wide. “You’re married!?”

“Not anymore, he’s dead.” Mako shrugged.

It was never really brought up, he wasn’t sure if he’d mentioned him at all to anyone in town before. Nobody went asking, and he wasn’t really willing to tell.

“Oh, that’s rough.” Jamie chewed on some more meat, feeling a bit awkward. “I uh, I’ve been through that too ya know. Dead husbands ‘n stuff, but it came with the territory. Can’t keep fallin’ for humans and expectin’ not to out live em. Hurts the same though.”

Mako let out a hum of acknowledgement, shoveling rice into his mouth. He kind of expected that, but the weight of it still made his chest ache. Husbands, humans, plural. The guy’s dad still didn’t get it after all these years then?

“Fuck em.” He grumbled.

“Wot’d you say mate?” There was venom in his voice, and he looked almost ready to clock him in the jaw but stopped, maybe it was the look on Mako’s face. He was frustrated, staring deep into the bowl in front of him.

“If your dad ain’t gonna understand after all this time, then fuck em.” Sure he had no idea what the guy was actually like, maybe he was thinking of his own dad too, but he meant it.

A hand on his shoulder almost made him jump, and Jamie had the most sympathetic smile on his face that Mako had ever seen. The hand stayed for a while, the two of them eating together, silent. It was nice, and it almost felt like somehow Jamie had made himself feel better, even though he was the one trying to cheer up the sea rat.

“Thanks mate.”


	6. Enter the Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm technically late updating, but honestly this is probably going to become more infrequent so no more daily updates. I'll try to update it as much as I can though, I mean once every couple days isn't that bad. Again, thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos, it really helps motivate me to keep writing this, everyone's been really sweet. I can't wait to see where the story goes after this, there's so many things I wanna do with it.

Now that Junkrat was clothed and happier than a sea monkey finally released from it’s tiny plastic prison, Mako could shower. Being clean was always his top priority, he was already a giant obese man with a face like a cheese grater, the last thing he wanted was to add stinky as fuck to the list. Junkrat on the other hand was refusing to bathe, so he figured the next best thing was to rub em down with a washcloth and hope for the best. After furious cursing and a couple bite marks the merman was as clean as he could get him without making things weird, and the washcloth was tossed in the garbage, it was better this way.

The clock ticked away, and they hardly bothered to get off the couch. Who knew when the dragon would show up, and for now Mako would rather have contained stupidity rather than go outside and attempt to get to know a bunch of magical strangers. Junkrat would be fine.

“Can any one of you guys do any magic?” Mako couldn’t deny he was curious, he also couldn’t deny all the monster movies, and young adult books he’s soaked up in his life.

“Magic? Ah course, watch this!” Junkrat proceeded to be the little shit that he was, pretending to remove the top of his thumb, making a spectacle of it. Mako was unimpressed, he’d seen better.

“Alllriiight,” his sighed, shoulders dropped and he leaned back, “yeah some of us do, some of us don’t. Just depends on who they are. Ah can’t do much, just barely get a leg ‘n a half, but other than that nothin’, unless singin’ counts but everyone can do that.”

“Singing?”

“You know, like those sexy sirens in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the kind that tempts men into their death,” Jamie played it up, tucking his legs underneath him and batted his eyelashes before snapping his teeth. “I could demonstrate, butcha might fall in love with me.”

Mako was about to say he’d pass, but curiosity got the best of him, so he said nothing, leaving it up to Jamie. There was a small sound, otherworldly and clear. It felt like he was hearing it come straight through his thoughts, a deep voice that melted the room away. He swore there were only two things left in the world, just Jamie and him, and jesus did he look handsome like that, mouth making an oh shape, eyes half lidded. Was he always that close? Did that matter? The answer to both was no because Mako was currently scootching closer, ready to pounce on the merman, give him everything he’s ever wanted, before it stopped abruptly.

“Jamie!!” It was Lucio, pushing him away from Jamie with as much strength as he could muster, he wasn’t doing much. “That’s dangerous!”

“What? He asked for it.” Jamie grumbled, disappointment clear on his face, the kind that made Mako snort and chuckle. This always egged the merman on, and made him giggle like a maniac. “Shoulda seen the big lug’s face, looked like he was ready to jump my bones.” There was a faint hint of pink on his face, one that the fisherman chose carefully to ignore.

“Well he’s not the only one, McCree was out there trying to fit inside the door.” That sounded fucking hilarious, made Mako wish he coulda been coherent enough to notice. Now this only made him more curious, why did it affect him and McCree and not Lucio? Did anyone else hear it and come running?

“Why don’t you show him somethin’ then, he wanted to see some magic, you got plenty of it doncha?” 

Lucio raised an eyebrow, but gave up after seeing the look that the two of them had. “I’m not gonna waste it on anything big, so you get what you get.” He took in a deep breath, then exhaled. The air felt tingly, and fresh, Mako felt his lungs clear and his muscles relax. A gently tune was being plucked from a lyre that Lucio seemingly pulled out of nowhere, he assumed that was the source of this feeling, and when he stopped playing the feeling faded away. “Happy?”

“Yeah,” Mako hummed, he felt really good, it was nice to breath properly for a moment. He looked up to find the two of them staring at him, both with a blush blooming across their faces. “What?” He frowned.

“Uh! Anyway, I came to tell you that I sent a message with Tracer to Hanzo-the dragon guy, when she gets back we should know when he’s gonna come get the ring.” Lucio pulled it out of his shirt pocket and dropped it in Mako’s hand, definitely a good choice. “It shouldn’t take long, she’s usually really fast.”

“Is that Lena?” Fast sounded like her, but he’d never heard her called Tracer before.

“Oh, yeah it is, did you meet her earlier? I was gonna tell you a lot of the people from town either work here or visit, but I figured it’d be better if you saw them for yourself. It’s uh, it’s a pretty big deal for a human to know about this place, and about any of us, but seein’ as how you’ve been so quiet about Jamie I figure we could probably trust you. So uh, welcome I guess?” Lucio shrugged.

“What is this place though? Some sort of refugee camp for gorillas and centaurs?” Mako figured this was his pass to ask more questions.

“Sort of, yeah some of us live here cause we don’t have any other place to go, some of us just like it here more, but it’s mostly a base of operations. We’re not in any books or on the news or anything, but our little community does a whole lot of good against uh, darker forces. We even act as the middle man for disputes, like the shit Jamie gets into, frequently.” There was a look, and Junkrat snickered. “It might not be surprising at this point but there’s a lot of bad shit happening in the magic world, we just try to keep everything under control so that humans don’t start giving us any trouble for a handful of bad eggs.”

That made sense, it didn’t even sound that stupid when he put it that way. There’s bad people out there, Mako included, so of course there’d be a bunch of do-gooders trying to make the world a safer place. He nodded, satisfied with the answer he gave him.

“I wanted to say ‘Hog, I uh, I may have misjudged you. I thought you didn’t like people, didn’t realize you were just a quiet guy. It’s nice to see you being friendly, I really was shocked when Jamie made you laugh, even now it kinda shakes me up.”

That was enough of that sentiment, Mako didn’t want the kid to have a wrong impression of him. He still didn’t give a shit about anyone, but he gave only a little bit about Jamie. No way was he gonna respond to any of that garbage, instead opting for dealing with the mess they made on the coffee table.

Dishes were done, food was refrigerated, shows were watched, and time was wasted. Lucio had left, telling the two of them he’d be back after Tracer returned with an answer from the dragon, Hans or something. In the meantime they were back to chilling.

“When did ya get it?” Junkrat was poking his pegleg into his stomach, he’d been shirtless since his shirt got ruined so it was all hanging out. Mako figured he was referring to the giant tattoo covering 30% of his body, his tummy.

“Long time ago,” he scratched his thin chest hair.

“Where’d ya get it?” Junkrat came closer, pressing and prodding the tattoo with his hand.

“Don’t remember,” he shrugged.

“Why’d ya get it?” Junkrat was now pulling at his fat, Mako smacked his hand away so the merman just went back to admiring it from afar.

“It was for my biker gang,” he was getting a little annoyed at all the questions.

“Is that where you met your husb-”

“Jamie.” Mako’s brow furrowed, there was no way in hell he was gonna talk about his husband anymore than he already had. That was an absolute no.

“Well,” Junkrat laid across the couch, legs in Mako’s lap, “I got mine when I joined a pirate crew, captain scooped me outta the water, was half dead. He nursed me back to health and made me a member, tattoo and everything, got to fuck up plenty of ships, brought home shitloads of treasure. Time of my life.”

This weird sharing time was starting to make Mako uncomfortable, but he didn’t show it. It was nice to hear about something that mattered from Jamie for once, get to know him a little better. It sounded like a lot of fun, anarchy, made him think about the past again. Lena better hurry up.

“I hope you guys are decent, he’s here.” Lucio had just walked in, hoofs clicking on the tile.

That was unexpected. Outside the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, and it was fairly early when Jamie had jumped into his arms. Everything felt like it was going both too quickly, and not fast enough.

“I thought you said Lena was going to come back first,” Mako brushed food crumbs off his stomach as he stood, stretching a bit.

“Well yeah that was the plan, but she said that the guy wasn’t letting her go, and pretty much threatened her to take him here.” Lucio’s face scrunched up in thought, “It’s not like he doesn’t know how to get here either. Whatever, meet us in five, and uh, you might want to put a shirt on.”

Mako frowned, he was comfortable, but Lucio was already gone and Junkrat was fidgeting.

“Think he’s gonna clobber me?” That grin was plastered on his face, but it looked nervous.

Shaking his head Mako put his hand on Jamie’s head, hoping that would calm down the tightly wound merman. There wasn’t exactly a large selection of clothes readily available, and he was sure nothing would fit even if he tried, so Mako ignored Lucio’s suggestion, but he was going to ignore it anyway. He had to look big and intimidating so that Jamie wouldn’t have to worry about anything, and everyone always stared at him, the perfect distraction.

With the two of them looking as proper as they could be, they headed outside. Junkrat took the lead, obviously familiar enough with the situation that he knew what to do. There weren’t half as many people as before, Mako assumed that they all went home or where done doing whatever they did here for the day. Jamie was leading them to a cobblestone square, he wasn't sure if it was put there for this purpose, maybe if it was just always there. There were a couple people waiting on one side, some of which he met today, and on the other side was a nervous looking Lena and a man wearing some sort of kimono, just like Jamie had said.

“The ring,” Lucio coughed, not really very subtle. Mako pulled it out of his pocket, standing next to Junkrat and across from the man.

There was a tense silence.

“Sorry for stealin’ ya ring mate, didn’t mean any harm by it.” Junkrat was avoiding the man’s hawk-like gaze.

The merman was right, the guy sure was something. Perhaps Jamie had a type; old, salt n pepper hair, stoic, and looks like he’s killed more than once. He really was handsome though, the guy even carried a bow and arrow like it was a normal thing to do in the 21st century.

“You did not steal it.” His voice was stiff and formal, just what you’d expect from someone who looked the way he did.

“I’m sorry, wot?” Junkrat’s face was comically twisted, eyes blown wide.

“You did not steal it, because I let you take it. I needed a reason to come here, there is something I must tell you.” At the end of that his eyes zeroed in on McCree, who was looked twice as sour as he did earlier, an obvious grimace on his face.

“I ain’t got to listen to anythin’ you say sweetheart.” McCree chewed on a toothpick, tail flicking behind him.

“No-” his expression cracked, before he stole himself away again, “it is a warning, for all of you. I was not the only one at the Fawke’s estate this morning, I barely managed to keep Jamison occupied enough that I would not seem suspicious.” He looked extremely exhausted as he mentioned Jamie, probably for the right reasons.

“Why should we believe anything you say after what you pulled?” McCree was pushing past Lucio and Winston, venom on his tongue as he spoke.

“J-This is not the time, I had barely managed to get here with Tracer without being detected.” He was involuntarily raising his voice, something was happening between the two of them that screamed bad blood. This must be what Jamie meant when he said dragons weren’t allowed to come here.

“That’s always how it is with you ain’t it, never the time for-”

“Alright!” Lucio stopped McCree from going any further, “Let’s just hear what he has to say _then_ we can figure out what to do.”

The centaur’s hooves scratched at the stone, and he huffed like a horse.

“Thank you. As I was saying I was not the only one at the Fawkes estate. It was a get together yes, but Mr. Fawkes had invited four people who did not have any business being there, myself included.” He stepped forward, putting out a hand. Mako nudged Junkrat, putting the ring in his palm, and the merman handed the dragon his ring. “I know who these people are, and who they work for. I have had my suspicions that Mr. Fawkes was dealing with these people, and tonight I was correct when he invited me in hopes of future employment.”

“Who are they?” Winston had spoke up, brows furrowed.

“You know them as well as I do, maybe even more, you see-”

It was slow motion for Mako, the minute he saw movement in the tree. It was small, anyone would have missed it if they weren’t focused, but he was used to noticing this sort of thing, it came with the territory. The thing he didn’t expect is seeing the red dot on Jamie’s hair, which was when everything had sped up, as he pushed the merman to the ground, covering him with his massive body. There was a gunshot, Junkrat was still alive.

Mako had expected everyone to sit around like a bunch of goldfish, wide eyed and gasping for air. They were hardly doing anything like that though, Winston was hurling himself into the tree, and McCree had pulled out a pistol from his belt. Lena took to the sky, getting ready for an ambush.

It came with an inhuman growl.

“ _ **Death comes.**_ ”

Suddenly the camp was full of gunshots and screaming. Everything went to shit, there were black clad soldiers and magical creatures mashed together, fighting out of pure instinct. Mako had to keep Jamie safe, the two of them were unarmed and ill prepared for some all out war. With his body still flush against the squirming merman Mako tried to find some sort of escape route, when a soldier’s gun landed right next to him. It wasn’t his scrap gun, but it’d have to do.

In one solid motion Mako scooped up Jamie, and started blasting at anyone who looked like they were ready to kill them.

“Oi! Put me down!! I can fend for myself!” Junkrat sure was making this a hell of a lot more difficult to save him wasn’t he?

“You don’t have a weapon.” That was the only reason he was treating him like this, because it was stupid to let him run around swinging fists at armed men.

“I got a hook!” Junkrat jammed the thing right in front of his face as Mako shot a masked soldier right in the chest.

“Stop waving that thing around,” he grumbled, “Gonna get us killed.” Alright maybe the other reason he was treating him like this was because somebody just tried to assassinate the sea rat. There were six other people standing there, all of em way more difficult in a fair fight than the twink currently wriggling in his arm. They singled Jamie out, they wanted to kill him. That didn’t sit well with Mako.

They were out of the thick of it, ducked behind some hut on the edge of camp. Mako was wheezing, trying to get his breathing steady.

“I’m not an invalid ya know! Ah can put up a fight!” Junkrat was angry again, and ready to waltz back into danger. Mako pulled him down next to him, completely out of breath.

“ **I know.** ” He erupted into a coughing fit, and Jamie had a pathetic half attempt at concern. “You almost got killed out there Junkrat, I just wanted to make sure you got out safe.” Holy shit his lungs hurt, or maybe it was his heart, did it always beat this fast? The words coming out of his own mouth felt so weird, why did it even matter what happened to the merman this wasn’t his fight, nor was it any of his business. If anything he should be the one getting mad for being thrust into someone else’s problems like this. It was just, everything was beginning to feel normal again, in the kind of completely-not-normal way.

“Don’t tell me you’re going soft jus’ cause I sang you a pretty song.” Jamie half snickered, his voice lowered. At least he was attempting to hide, maybe he should play up the asthma some more and he’ll shut up so they wouldn’t get noticed at all.

Mako snorted, checking the gun in his hand, it was empty, no bullets. They were straight fucked if anyone saw them, and Mako was a walking target. He dared to take a peek, just to see what was happening. There were less people than he thought, it was only about ten soldiers, 3 masked magical creatures, and a shroud with a skull mask on it (or was it an owl mask? Did it even matter?). Mako figured there was probably still a sniper somewhere, so the total number of standing enemies was about ten, the soldiers were dropping more quickly than any of the others.

It was weird, how many people could just appear like that without anyone noticing? There had to be something going on. 

“Hey-where ya goin’? I thought we were gonna lay low!” Jamie was hobbling after him, voice a harsh whisper.

“Change of plans.” Mako couldn’t shake the feeling, there was something weird about the whole thing. The sniper made sense, they were completely covered in the tree, but how the hell could a group of soldiers hide themselves long enough that nobody would notice? The sun had only just set when they attacked, it was too perfect. What direction did they come from?

Jamie carefully followed behind Mako as they skirted the outside of the fight, hidden behind boxes and buildings. They could see the dragon guy perched on a building, arrows raining down on a group of soldiers. A group of harpies were swooping one of the magical creatures, one of them launching rockets down onto them.

It was by complete accident that they bumped into the exact thing they were looking for, and they only knew that they were looking for it because another soldier popped right out of the weird glowing blue oval. Now face to face with danger Mako did the only thing he could think of, and he headbutted the soldier, knocking him out cold. Jamie tried to stifle a cackle, and Mako rolled his eyes as he tossed him the fully loaded pistol.

“Don’t do anything unless you have to.” He wanted to tell him to go nuts, just to let the guy unwind a little, but they were trying to stay hidden.

Now while Jamie had his back he could figure out what to do with the oval. It was emanating a weird hum, he didn’t like that one bit. It was only a matter of time before another soldier or somebody worse popped out of it. There was nothing on the sides, nothing above it, but there was a small machine underneath it. Bingo. Mako raised a mighty heel, and stomped the electronic until it flickered and whined. The oval was gone, Jamie was proud. 

“Nice job mate.” Junkrat smiled, giving him the gun. Maybe the kid had some sense in him still after all.

On the camp-turned-battlefield things were starting to settle, the smog with shotguns was gone, and it didn’t seem like there was a disproportionate amount of bodies to living soldiers anymore. The fight was over, and Jamie was still alive. Mako let out a long breath.

“Everybody all right!? Mercy, here’s another one!” Lucio was calling out orders, healing the injured and sending the severely wounded a little ball of light. Mako realized when it passed by him that it wasn’t a ball of light and was in fact a real fairy, who reminded him of an angel. Her name must be Mercy then.

Mako wasn’t planning on helping, but when the tiny fairy barked at him to carry someone thirty times her size, he felt rather intimidated. After everything was straightened out and accounted for, there were only three dead and seven severely injured, which didn’t seem like a lot to Mako, but clearly was to everyone else. Jamie was just as unaffected by it as he was though, and he was still breathing, so the two of them kept their distance from the rest of the mourners, paying their own respects.

“What do you think, did my dad send an assassin to kill me then planned on coverin’ it up with an all out war?” Junkrat was surprisingly calm, leaning back as the words smoothed over his lips.

“Maybe,” was all Mako could say, because he wasn’t even sure he could bring himself to tell him the truth. God knows he’s never met the man, but if Jamie’s thinking the same thing as he is, then it only proves his suspicions. Plus this meant that the dragon guy was played just as much as Jamie was, leading the enemy straight to him. It made his stomach turn. Mako wasn’t even sure if _he_ was that heartless, even after all the shit he’s done in his life at least he never tried to kill his own son. 

Well, maybe that was the difference, Mako succeeded. Suddenly he felt cold, Jamie may have been bringing back his smile, but he was also bringing back his pain. He had to get out, he had to breathe.

“You guys should probably stay here for the next couple days, who knows what those guys could of wanted. Sorry ‘Hog, I know you didn’t ask to be any part of this-” Lucio was talking to them, he had his harp held tightly in his hand.

Mako didn’t want to hear it, because there was no way around. He forced himself to stand, knees straining but he managed, and walked himself back to the house they had been staying in all day. This was normal behavior to anyone else, being brushed off and ignored, but by the way Jamie hurriedly bounced behind him he could tell that the merman knew something was wrong, and that only made everything worse. He just wanted to be left alone now, he’d never spent this much time with this many people in a long time and he was tired. He’d had two asthma attacks and even killed someone, what more could Jamie want out of him that he hadn’t already given?

“You alright bud?” Jamie was a couple feet away from him, and Mako was standing in the doorway of one of the rooms.

He stayed quiet, unmoving.

“I uh, I didn’t wantcha to get mixed up in-”

Mako shut the door. He was just tired. That was all.


	7. Catch and Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late updates, I've been frantically trying to get the Lucio olympic skin (not luck rip) all month. I feel like this chapter is really short, I'll try to make the next one a bit longer, stuff should be happening a little quicker now.

The sun was shining through his window, and Mako had woken up to another coughing fit. Every muscle ached, and his chest felt tight. He could feel his blood pumping through his veins and air fill his lungs. Today was another day, and for some reason Mako was almost happy to see the sun for the first time in years. It was weird, yesterday was absolutely horrific, so much shit happened all at once, he had to tell someone about his husband, he had thought about the good old days, and he even thought about his son for the first time since what happened. He had come to this tiny little beach city to get away from everything he knew, to run away from his haunting past, to be alone.

Yet here he was, suddenly a part of some magical battle between good and evil, and obsessing over some sea rat. Mako never had a lot going on in his head usually, it was mostly just the usual, the stuff he didn’t say to people outloud, or when he was thinking about what show to watch next. He was a very simple person, but Junkrat was extremely complex. 

The merman was all over the place, jumping from one thing to the next without even a stop for breath. He was always moving, always expressing himself, always cackling, and lately was always on his mind.

Mako had done a lot of thinking last night, going over everything that had happened. Yeah he was frustrated, but that was only because Jamie was making him act differently. You spend years trapped in a comfy little bubble, doing everything you can to stay in it, then someone comes along and pushes you out and into the unknown. He remembered a time when he could laugh and say whatever he wanted, a time when he was in love. Jamie reminded Mako of him, but they were so incredibly different. He shouldn’t of been mean to the merman, especially not when he had just been betrayed by his own father.

The bed creaked as he stood, stretching. As awful as he felt there was something new stirring, a hunger, what was going to happen today, what was going to happen tomorrow? It tickled him just to imagine. Mako looked around for his pants, scratching at his stomach, when he noticed something by the door. He stomped over to it, and picked up a folded pile of clothes, they were _his_ clothes. They were from home. Weird, but he wasn’t going to question it, he was just gonna buy a better security system when he went back.

After putting on the fresh outfit, smelling like home and laundry detergent, Mako opened the door to the rest of the house. From the hallway he could hear the tv, the same channel that him and Junkrat had been watching the day before. He wasn’t sure what to expect as he stepping into the living room.

Junkrat was curled up on the couch, laying against the armrest, he had his pegleg propped against the coffee table, the really nice one with the pretty carvings. He was wearing some dirty looking green pants, patches decorating them, and he was shirtless. There were bags under his eyes. 

“Morning.” Mako said it first, plopping down on the couch next to him. Junkrat mumbled in reply, wiping his eyes, he looked like he hadn’t got any sleep.

“I had Tracer get us some stuff, hope you don’t mind that she broke into your house, thought you’d want something clean to wear.” He was fidgety, one hand thumbing over the scar tissue on his other arm.

“Thanks.” Mako patted him on the side, trying not to linger. He definitely meant it, he would of felt like garbage wearing the mud-stained pants from yesterday.

“No biggy.” Junkrat was being quiet, acting like some sort of scorned animal. It really must have fucked him up, that Mako pushed him away like that. Only one way to fix it.

“Hungry?”

Jamie nodded, cautiously.

Mako didn’t need to be told twice, and he was off to the kitchen. There was actually new food, maybe they stocked up while he was asleep. He looked at the oven clock, it was about eleven, he really slept in didn’t he. There were a lot of different options, hopefully they had soy milk, he wanted pancakes.

It wasn’t nearly as much food as yesterday, but it was enough to make sure the both of them were happy and full. Mako brought the stack of flapjacks to the table, along with all the fixings he thought they would need. He grabbed the container of fresh blackberries, the jug of orange juice, and two cups. 

Junkrat definitely perked up, but still had that kicked puppy look on his face. They ate quietly.

“I’m not mad.” Mako was getting frustrated at the silence, just say something Jamie, goddamnit.

“Never said you were,” Junkrat was taking every opportunity to have something in his mouth so that he wouldn’t have to say anything.

“You’re acting like I am.”

“’m not.”

“Jamie.”

“What!? Just leave me alone,” Junkrat huffed, probably knowing how stupid he was being. This was definitely getting him mad though, and here he was trying to apologize with vegetarian pancakes.

“Is that what you want?” Mako stood, plate in hand, ready to leave. Jamie’s expression grew pained, like he really did just kick a puppy. They stayed like this for a long moment before Junkrat crumpled, heaving out a heavy sigh and tucking his leg underneath him. Mako sat back down.

“Alroight…It’s just…” Junkrat was turned away from Mako now, not ready to look at him. “‘S my fault. I got ya into this mess an’ you went and snapped at me and I couldn’t help but think you’d never wanna see me again, but then there you go and make pancakes with that stupid pigface ah yours, lookin’ like a goddamn sunrise. Meanwhile I’ve been beating myself up silly over nothin’ and I know it’s nothin’ cause you’re not making me feel bad that you’re stuck here with me for a couple ah days instead of bein’ able to go fishing or read your books.” 

Mako was going to tell him he was an idiot, but all he wanted was to be sweet to him. After all, it was Mako who acted stupid, and it wasn’t Jamie’s fault he was stuck here, if he didn’t come with him in the first place Jamie would of been killed by that sniper, then that would be on Mako too.

Instead of saying something stupid, Mako just patted Junkrat’s head, thoroughly. He felt the soft, slightly charred split ends of his blond hair through his fingertips, the way his hairline receded into a deep widow’s peak. The touch starved sea rat seemed to eat up the attention, not a single protest or push.

“Do you miss the ocean when you’re out of it?” Mako mumbled, his curiosity for the merman never seemed quenched, he wanted to know so much and every little detail felt like it would never be enough.

“Uh, y-yeah, sometimes. Not much I can do about it though.” Jamie’s cheeks were flushed, Mako’s hand was so large it looked like it could almost cover his entire head.

“Miss it now?” His voice was even lower, almost a whisper. Mako just wanted to see Jamie happy and smiling all the time, like he always was, like he always should be.

“Kinda,” Junkrat’s voice mirrored his, soft, and expectant. What was he expecting though, and what was Mako even doing with such a weird question?

There was an electricity in the air, it tingled against Mako’s fingertips as he cupped Jamie’s face. It had been a long time since he felt this, and the stars in Jamie’s eyes were so mesmerising, he was just going to lean in for a closer look at those yellow orbs, that was all.

“Whoo! Alright! Guys we got Morrison in the **house**! Look aliv-” Lucio had strutted in through the door, dancing to some soft music coming from his headphones when he stopped dead in his tracks at the two sitting on the couch. Mako was wide eyed, face unreadable, looking directly at the intruder, while Junkrat had his eyes squeezed shut, lips pursed waiting for a kiss that wasn’t coming.

“OoHH,” Lucio was blushing, eyes squinted with a big grin spreading across his face. “OooooHHHH,” he bit his lips in excitement, hands going from his burning cheeks to finger guns, “ooOOoooo,” and he backed out of the door, closing it.

Jamie at some point had opened his eyes and was now cradling his face into the palm of his hand, hook pressed against his forehead in shame. Mako swore he saw steam coming off of him, he was so red. Well that was...something. 

“We uh,” Mako wasn’t just being quiet, for once he was at a loss for words. He was seconds away from kissing Junkrat, and the merman clearly looked like he fully intended to kiss his gross face back. Nobody looks at a face like his and wants to even lock eyes, let alone kiss it.

“Roight.” Jamie was putting on his prosthetic, as if he wasn’t beet red. Mako nodded a lot, putting on his sandals. The two of them both knew what Mako had meant to say, and were ready to see what Lucio had barged in to say.

Outside felt breezy, and had they not seen it the night before he would hardly have known that there was a raid on the camp just last night. Everyone looked, for the most part, unaffected, and whatever hadn’t been cleaned up yesterday was already dealt with.

Lucio was snickering with McCree only a could feet away, joined by another person Mako recognized. This time was definitely the weirdest, but once he thought for a second it made sense. The guy said he had friends here, and since nobody Mako knew was actually human, he had to have meant these kind of friends. Of course had he been paying attention to what Lucio said he might of recognized the name, but he had been a little distracted by the way Jamie’s lips looked.

“Heeeyyy!” Lucio sang, biting his lip as he grinned.

“Howdy.” McCree smirked.

“Good evening,” the decorated soldier shook Mako’s hand, seemingly oblivious as to what the other two were so tickled about. Mako was very grateful for that. “Didn’t think I would see someone like you here, there aren’t many humans like us who can come and go as they please.”

Mako closed his eyes, thank god there was somebody normal in this circus of a town.

“Who’s this?” Junkrat was looking between everyone, visibly grasping for straws.

“This is General Jack Morrison sir!!” Lucio saluted then erupted into another fit of giggles. “Back in the day he ran this little party, only a couple of us and a whole lot of them just protecting the neighborhood from the bad guys. It was before my time though.”

“The neighborhood? Pfsh, when I hopped on this wagon they were halfway across the country, Reyes had to rope me in way down south of the border.” McCree looked lost in thought for a minute, giving a nostalgic sigh. “Of course, it ain’t like it used to be though, gotta be a lot more careful these days with all those new gadgets people have.”

“You’re doing great, even without the old team you’ve still got new recruits, and your own setup. I had a look around earlier, and I’d say it’s top form right now. Defences are good, a well oiled machine.” Mako remembered his name properly now, Jack Morrison.

“Aw shucks old timer, we do our best.” Lucio was preening, but keeping it modest. 

Both Junkrat and Mako looked entirely uninterested and bored with the whole exchange. They could of been making out right now, why did they need to meet some father figure veteran? This was actually the stupidest thing so far.

“Lucio said I’d be joining you two in the guest house, I told them that I could just go back home but they wouldn’t let up. That’s not going to be too much of a problem is it? Everyone told me about the current situation, and I came to help in anyway that I could.” Jack looked as civil and happy as everyone else in this damned place.

“Oh, but I thought you came cause-” McCree was looking away, like he expected to get scolded at for whatever he was implying.

“Yeah I came because of him.” Jack’s face was unreadable, stone, something he probably picked up during the service, but Mako felt like he was just naturally good at hiding his emotions.

Junkrat was bored out of his mind, using Mako’s arm as a toy to balance on, leaning as far as he could, using the least amount of fingers, straining not to fall. Mako nudged him, he went down, he laughed.

“Well boys, I just wanted to introduce your new housemate, so you’re free to go back to whatever you might have been doing before I came in.” Lucio waggled his eyebrows. “Just remember to knock Jack, these two won’t give you any trouble.” He patted the old man on the back.

The two were happy to turn around and leave the situation, completely silent. It was even worse when they got in the house. What should they do now? Was everything going to be severely awkward between the two of them? That would absolutely suck but Mako didn’t know how to fix this, and this was definitely his fault. Mako didn’t even know how he felt about the sea rat, let alone know how Jamie felt about him.

“I’m gonna…” Mako pointed at the table which was still covered in dishes from earlier.

“Roight.” Junkrat helped clean up, wouldn’t wanna make a mess if they were going to be sharing the place with someone else. 

This was going to be a long couple days, Mako just knew it.


	8. The bath

The next few days weren’t the absolute worst. Sure there were plenty of moments when one of the two men caught the other staring, and hands always somehow found themselves on the other in some way, but nothing really happened between them. Morrison was never even in the house except to eat or sleep, he was too busy with whatever he came here to do.

The only thing that was a problem, was Jamie. It had been three days, three full days, and the merman looked like he was ready to turn tail and make a run for it. He had been so twitchy, Mako had caught him with some bleach and vinegar, he didn’t even wanna know what he was going to do with that. It was starting to be like babysitting, making sure Jamie wasn’t breaking something or blow something up or worse. It was tiring.

Mako had left him alone so he could make lunch for, at most, five minutes, before that shrill giggling made him run back out and find the little shit. The merman was removing parts from a remote and the stereo system, and Mako had enough.

Mako scooped Jamie up with one arm and slung him over his shoulder. If the merman couldn’t go to the ocean he’d get the next best thing. 

“Oi! What’re you doing, ya fuckin’ drongo!? Put me down!” Jamie was struggling, doing everything he could to get away from him.

Wordlessly, Mako led them to the bathroom and Jamie shrieked.

“I ain’t gonna do it! You can’t make me!” Jamie pushed and fought and bit and scratched, but Mako had dealt with worse, he didn’t even flinch.

Not letting Junkrat have his way, Mako started the bath, making sure it wasn’t too hot.

“I don’t wanna take a bath!” Jamie groaned, and Mako figured considering he wasn’t really sure if he stepped a toe in any body of water since he forced the merman to towel off when he was covered in mud.

“It’s not a bath.” Not that Mako wasn’t going to make sure the little shit wasn’t as clean as a whistle by the time he got out anyway.

“It’s! A! Bath!” The water was getting higher, and Jamie was scrambling to jump over Mako’s shoulder. It was now or never, so he dumped the poor guy in the lukewarm water, clothes and all.

Junkrat went pale, at first. He looked like his soul was escaping his body, and the water was already starting to cloud just from him sitting there, motionless.

“Change.” Mako ordered, closing the door.

“Into what!?” Jamie had a renewed energy, glaring up at the fisherman.

“Your tail.”

“Oh.”

Junkrat didn’t really look as mad anymore, now that he understood what Mako was trying to do. They couldn’t leave yet, so Mako was doing his best to cheer Jamie up again with the second best thing.

“I don’t think I’ll fit.” Jamie mumbled, shimmying off his clothes the best he could. Mako wanted to look, to watch him turn back, he wondered if it hurt at all, but decided that wasn’t the best thing for his heartrate right now, staring at Jamie’s naked body. He looked at the floor tiles instead, waiting for whatever all-clear sign he could get.

Jamie’s sopping wet clothes were thrown onto the floor, so Mako busied himself with wringing them out in the sink.

There was a strange energy in the air, and Jamie cleared his throat. It must be over, Mako was allowed to look.

Junkrat’s tail fin was flopped out of the water, somehow still circled with that dumb plastic ring. He looked uncomfortable and cramped, but ultimately a lot more calm than when he was trying to make homemade pipe bombs. Mako wouldn’t say this outloud, but just the sight of him like this made him want to buy a tiny aquarium, just for Jamie, and keep him locked up forever. That was stupid though, because Jamie belonged to the sea, and to that scummy beach with the tide pools and the sunken ship. They really needed to get out of here, even Mako was starting to miss it, not to mention he probably had a fridge full of out of date food and a garbage full of rot. 

“Wot’s with the face?” Jamie was laying back, arms draped on the side of the tub, looking away from Mako.

Mako didn’t even realize he was making a face, he wasn’t really, maybe Junkrat was better at reading him than he thought. The chemistry between them felt so natural, Mako hardly had to explain himself for Jamie to understand what he meant. They really had clicked, and it was nice. No wonder Mako was starting to get these feelings.

He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to answer, the question was rhetorical anyway.

“Y’know, I didn’t really expect you to come back.” Jamie must still feel twitchy, the way he spoke his mind so clearly. The bits of clarity the merman had were something else, and they always came out during those times Mako felt exposed, vulnerable. 

“I’ve seen ya before y’know.” Mako was visibly surprised, he would've known if he met Jamie before, or at least he hoped he would have. “Yeah, it was a long time ago, almost forgot about it to tell ya the truth.” Jamie stretched, cracking his joints. “Not that I woulda recognized you anyway, with that mask of yours.”

Oh, Mako knew what he was talking about. 

“Don’t think you remember either, you were pretty busy anyway. It wasn’t too far away from here either, was it your honeymoon or something?” Jamie knew full well he was treading dangerous waters, but he didn’t look scared, probably payback for the bath.

“Anniversary.” Mako sat down next to the tub, maybe he could spare a few details, just a few. “Before the baby.”

“You had a kid?” Jamie was staring at him now, wide eyed, clouded with tension. He knew, of course he did, it was obvious that something had happened to him or else Mako would of mentioned him sooner. “Wot was their name?”

“Grice.” If it hurt to say, Mako didn’t show it.

“Woah.” Jamie leaned back, looking at the ceiling. “I ain’t never had a kid. I’d worry too much about killin’ it.”

Mako knew what he meant, but it stung, a lot. Yeah his kid died, he let him die, he let his husband die too. He couldn’t protect them. It was his fault. He moved here to get away from that, get away from the anarchist lifestyle, if only he did that sooner, if only they settled down and got the white picket fence his husband always wanted they would still be alive. 

A hand snapped him out of it, smoothing over his grey hair.

“I’m sorry mate, didn’t mean to open any fresh wounds.”

They weren’t fresh, they just never healed right.

Mako closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the tub. How many years had it been? Did he even remember what they sounded like? Then Mako remembered that Jamie knew what it felt like to loose someone you loved, more than one someone. Was Jamie thinking about his deceased husbands too?

“I never got over Captain Wilhelm, don’t think I ever will.” Jamie mumbled, he had his head in his arm, looking over the tub as he kept petting Mako’s hair. 

This actually felt kind of...nice? Licking each other's wounds like this, remembering the things that hurt. Mako didn’t want to look up, afraid what Jamie would see on his face.

“What about your mate, was he tall, couldn’t be taller than you though.” Jamie was tugging the hair tie out of his hair, letting his face be veiled by grey.

“Tiny thing, genetics were never on his side.” Mako almost felt like smiling, poor guy was a full 2 feet shorter than him, had some curves to him. Only came up to his chest at most.

“Wow, musta been somethin’ to see you guys rut then.” Jamie giggled a little.

Mako hummed, the guy wasn’t always up for it but when they were it was fantastic. He was pretty flexible, needed to be too, all those years of stripping paid off.

“Wilhelm was always tryin’ to fuck me like this, but the drongo couldn’t even swim.” Jamie was trying not to laugh too loud, but the way his lips pressed together made it clear how funny he thought it was.

“Who can blame him?” Mako snorted, speaking as freely as ever.

“The guy wouldn’t rest until he got me in shallow water, had me under the moon, all romantic and shit.” Jamie was moving around in the tub, trying to get comfortable again. Mako stopped looking at the floor, running a hand over his face.

“Possum was into the romantic stuff too, I don’t get it, but he loved it.” Mako frowned, then almost jumped out of his skin.

“ **POSSUM?** ” Junkrat’s voice could break glass it was so high, his mouth gaping as he smiled.

“Y-yeah, ‘s what we called him back then. He uh, didn’t like his deadname that much, and Possum stuck so...” Mako blushed, well yeah it was cute, Possum was adorable but he didn’t like being seen as cute, on account of the whole trans thing. Possum was an extremely handsome trash baby, who liked to be called as such. Mako smiled a little, remembering.

“Oh I hear ya, took me awhile to get used to seein’ the name Jamison as sort of a gender neutral sorta thing. Took even longer to do somethin’ about these.” Jamie absently ran his fingers over his chest, if Mako squinted he could almost see a faint scar but for the most part he’d take Jamie’s word.

They talked for a long while about the past, longer than Mako ever thought he could. Time seemed to get away from them, the water turned cold, the sun was setting, and their stomachs rumbled.

They ate with Jack, watched some movies, then were heading off to bed.

“Roadhog.”

Mako was right about to close the door to his room when he noticed Jamie had followed him.

“Thanks for talkin’ about Possum and Grice, a-and thanks for the bath, I don’t take enough cause I either forget or I...well nevermind, I’ll um, see ya tomorrow.” Jamie didn’t really look like he wanted to leave, so Mako moved out of the way, inviting him in.

Drifting off to sleep together was nice, Jamie was warm in his arms, not as small as Possum, but he didn’t have to be like Possum. He just had to be Jamie. That night Mako got the best rest he’d had in a long time, his dreams filled with hope instead of regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always headcanon Junkrat as trans in case you were wondering yeah he's ftm, so is Possum, when I was looking up Jamison it was pretty gender neutral so I figured maybe Junkrat's the type of guy to be okay with his name. Also I'm not just shoehorning this in for the sake of #angst, and I'm not like, fetishizing it either (because I'm trans), I wanted to put it in just cause.
> 
> Also super fast update! I got the Lucio skin a couple hours after I posted the chapter last night so I didn't have to play as much today! More eventful things will happen next time, I promise. I wonder why Jack's there >:3c
> 
> Edit: I realize I can't find a single movie that would fit this chapter so generic it is (not that it's really that important lol)


	9. I'm here to help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a super long hiatus, and I know a lot of people gave me extremely supportive comments and really loved this so I finally sat down and finished this chapter. I'm sorry it took so long, I got super in my head about it and couldn't write anything for months, and I can't guarantee how much more I'll be writing/updating after this chapter but I'll try to continue it when I can since a lot of shits happened since last August (I'm back in school now O:) but I did really like writing this fic and I hope you like reading it. Thank you for being patient, and thank you for taking the time to write such sweet comments, I don't think I would of continued if it wasn't for your support so I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer and put more love into it. I promise they'll kiss soon, I know it's definitely been a slow burn so far lol.

Mako thought the day was going to be great, he woke up with an arm full of sea rat, cuddled up next to him, and made breakfast for everyone. Now that Jamie had gotten that bath he was a lot better, no property damage or twitchy fingers. It made his heart swell to see Jamie put together again, he almost didn’t realize how important that was to see him calm and back to normal. Things had gotten so tense lately with the attempted assassination by his father and the constant wondering about how long they would have to stay cooped up together. As much as they didn’t enjoy being stuck here, Mako couldn’t help wishing he could spend everyday like this with Junkrat. It felt stupid and sentimental, but it’s been so long since he wanted to spend his time with somebody else like this.

Yet as they say, all good things must come to an end, Morrison had told them that the rest of the merry men wanted to talk.

It was still pretty early, and the weather was nice. Being outside made even Mako ready to run for the hills and get back home, he could only imagine how Jamie felt. They followed Morrison through the camp, and to a large building, presumably their main base. 

The building itself was slightly bigger than the house they had been staying at, only instead of it being furnished like a home it was more of an office. There was a surprising amount of tech everywhere, and it hurt Mako’s brain to see satyrs and harpies sitting behind computers doing god knows what. People looked incredibly busy, paying absolutely no mind to them as they walked, some even struggling to squeeze by Mako’s intimidating girth. He figured they were probably getting ready for the impending war with Talon, he felt himself instinctively move to protect Junkrat but stopped quickly. With that small lapse of judgement Mako steeled himself and continued after Morrison and Jamie, and hey were led down a corridor and into some sort of meeting room which was filled with familiar faces.

“Mornin’ everyone! Sick of this place yet?” Lucio clopped over to them, face beaming as always.

There was a large table and a projector, which was on and showing the first slide of a power point. There was a little writing here and there but it was mostly pictures of fuzzy figures. Mako had no idea what the pictures might mean to them, but he was sure it was something about Talon.

“Yeah, ‘s it safe yet? Ol’ Roaddie’s been dying to get back to his knitting, aintcha?” Junkrat giggled, jabbing an elbow into his stomach. With a huff Mako enveloped Jami’s face with a large hand, smooshing it and messing up his hair with a chuckle.

“Weeelllll-” The kid looked like he was trying to figure out a nice way of saying it, but the dragon beat him to it.

“Not until you tell us what you know of your father’s plans.” Apparently Hanzo hadn’t left, like Mako thought he would’ve. Not to mention as angry as McCree had been that the dragon even showed up, the two were standing awfully close. He wondered where Hanzo must of slept, since it clearly wasn’t in the guest house with Jamie and Morrison.

“His wot now? I don’t know anything about his plans, you think that shit guzzler would tell me anything about that sort of stuff?” Junkrat rolled his eyes, pushing Mako’s meaty arm away from him.

“He must of said something, why else would he try to have you assassinated?” Hanzo spoke harshly, as if he knew Jamie was lying and treated him accordingly.

“Now hold on darlin’, maybe he really doesn’t know anything-” McCree was acting as the peacemaker suddenly, maybe they had a deeper relationship than Mako thought.

“We cannot ignore the situation, it makes little sense for him to kill his only successor unless absolutely necessary!” The man seemed at wits end, how long had they been talking before the two got there?

Jamie steamed next to Mako, not finding any of this funny. “What do you know about merfolk ya flying sea snake with arms? Fine! Maybe he did mention somethin’ about some stupid deal with those Talon bastards, but I ain’t got any more than you guys!” Junkrat was making frustrated noises, clenching his fists tightly.

“Did he mention who?” Morrison spoke up, voice heavy and gravelly.

“When did you hear it?” The fairy’s voice sounded loud and clear.

“Was it forced?” Winston put his two cents in.

Junkrat looked overwhelmed, “I don’t know! It was a couple weeks back, but he always makes shady deals like that, how was I supposed to know he’d come looking for a fight? It wasn’t like I knew anything special, that ain’t something you kill your son over!”

“He’s right.” Hanzo’s brows knit together, even more than they already were. “Perhaps we’ve been thinking of this the wrong way.” 

There was a pause in the room as everyone thought. Even Mako found himself wondering too. If he was trying to kill Jamie for hearing something he shouldn’t have it wasn’t necessary to make it into a full scale battle. They could of poisoned him, or dealt with him quietly, it didn’t have to be so grand, unless…

Mako started coughing, he understood now, Junkrat probably forgot what he said after the battle since Roadhog got upset but it was as clear as day. “It wasn’t supposed to cover up an assassination, it was to start a war.” All eyes were on him suddenly. “Jamie gets killed on your territory and his father blames your group for not protecting him and declares war as vengance.”

It was obvious, given that this wasn’t the first time Junkrat had used this as his safe space, he would inevitably do something stupid and have to come here. This Talon group or whatever attacks out of nowhere, because they regularly pick fights with whatever this group is called, and Jamie by complete coincidence gets killed in the crossfire. Instead of it being a way to get rid of the merman, they use his death to group up on Lucio’s team and wipe them out completely. Mako didn’t understand exactly why they would want this or what Jamie’s dad would gain but it made sense.

The thought seemed to permeate through the room and everyone collectively reached the same conclusion. Mako felt Junkrat get even angrier next to him, already pacing and fidgeting. 

“So Talon’s trying to take us down huh?” McCree scratched his beard. “Ain’t the first time.”

“This is different,” Morrison sounded tense.

“Yeah yeah, cause ghost boys here we get it-”

“Damnit McCree this isn’t a joke! You weren’t there, you didn’t see him when he went down, something happened to him, something wrong.” His face was haunted, reliving something indescribable. “Nobody just _becomes_ one of you, he was never like that when I knew him, he was just a human.”

“Just shows what you know then don’t it soldier?” McCree’s face was cold, his own demons hiding under his expression. “Want to share with the class what happened then? Or are we just gonna dance around this until you’re long gone?”

“Jesse wait-” Mercy hovered nervously, clutching her staff close.

“You know what happened, you heard it just like everyone else here did.” Jack grumbled.

“That’s where you’re wrong pal, cause someone’s lying and I can smell it. For as long as I knew ‘em Reyes wasn’t nothin’ but a true snake, rotten to the core. Terrorizing us magic folk under the pretense of just trying to help, someone like that doesn’t just _become_ one of us and how the hell do you know he wouldn’t willingly join a bunch of self righteous bastards like Talon? I’ve seen what they do to us, cause I seen Reyes do it lonnng before they ever sprouted up.” McCree glared, scanning the room from underneath his hat.

The air was tense, and Mako felt very out of place. 

“That is to say if ol’ ghost boy even _is_ alive like you say he is.” McCree mumbled, absently scratching his beard.

“Jesse...you know he wasn’t always like that, remember when he found you?” The angelic fairy was floating closer to him, voice dripping with nostalgia, clearly attempting to change McCree’s mind.

“Things were different back then darlin’, that was before Jack came fresh from hell and started taking charge of things like he knew what he doin’.” McCree was having an intense stare down with the silver fox.

The entire situation had shifted, and all of the bad blood was quickly boiling. This was clearly long withstanding, but ultimately irrelevant to Jamie and Mako’s current problem. The two of them just wanted to go home, and Mako wanted to get out of this mess altogether. 

As if even the thought of piping up and asking if they could leave, the room erupted. Jack had landed a punch directly into McCree’s jaw. The cowboy was rearing back for his own retaliation, as Hanzo and Winston attempted to pull both of them apart. Jamie was backing up, nonchalantly signaling Mako that they should escape while they were distracted.

Lucio of course wasn’t having any of this nonsense, and a loud, earsplitting noise was emitted from his lyre. Everyone stopped to cup their ears, all of their attention on the satyre.

“Alright everyone listen up! We have major issues that need to be dealt with right _now_. Jamie was almost killed, our home was attacked, and we’re pretty much on the cusp of war. Y’all need to sweep all that shit about Reyes under the rug for now and focus on the present. It doesn’t matter if he might be involved or not, what matters is the lives of this place right here, right now. Everyone understand?” Mako was impressed, the kid really was a good leader, especially at his age. No wonder things were working so well in their weird little village.

With everyone focused in on Lucio, Mako decided it was the best time to speak up. “Jamie isn’t safe here.” He was being truthful, there was no way the sea rat was going to be any help around their base, he wasn’t a part of them, and considering they weren’t even targeting him anymore now that their plans had fallen through there was no need for Junkrat to stay a minute longer.

Nobody spoke up for a minute, Lucio’s face scrunched up in thought. “You’re right, but there’s no other way we can protect him.” He looked up at the fisherman, his internal conflict clear on his face. Lucio was Junkrat’s friend, of course he wanted to make sure he was as safe as he could be, but now just being under their protection wasn’t enough anymore.

“Oi, speak for yourselves, I can protect myself.” Jamie piped up, a slight grin on his face. “‘Sides, ol’ pigface over here won’t let anything happen to me roight?” He reeled back and gave Mako’s stomach a loud slap, giggling. Mako had to resist starting another fight and throttling the little bastard himself.

The fisherman grunted in response, he was fully invested at this point, how hard would it be to keep an eye on the fish brat in his natural habitat? Even if they didn’t go back to the beach there was always Mako’s place. Worst case they could flee the town, or even the state, who knows?

“Wait just a minute, we’re not finished here yet. The others that were at the Fawke’s residence.” Mako could vaguely remember that Hanzo mentioned that before Junkrat’s head almost blew off. “I said there were four including myself, and that you knew some of them, I don’t mean to bring up the subject again but…” Hanzo trailed off, looking at McCree, who was sporting a swollen jaw.

“They call him Reaper, Morrison was correct, Reyes is alive and working for Talon. I can’t give you many details, but I will tell you everything I know later. The sniper was Widowmaker, a trained assassin. She is good at what she does, and she won’t hesitate to do whatever Talon asks of her. The last one I don’t have much information on, she’s not part of Talon but was hired from her company to assist in the raid. I know that she is human, she uses technology to do her bidding. I don’t understand it much myself but some of her broken tech was left behind and it may be of some use to you.” It was hard to keep the focus on just the information, tensions high at the very mention of Reyes. Hanzo made sure to speak clearly and bold enough that nobody could get a word in edgewise. 

“Are they still a threat?” Mako made sure to speak first, keep the conversation focused on what to do next instead of what happened in the past. It felt like everything was going to crack at once, more fists flying and more bad blood.

“I do not know, but I’m sure they’re getting ready for their next move as well.” It was still hard to say anything at this point. There was such little information to go on, nobody had any real answers.

“We’re going.” Mako decided. It didn’t make sense for the two of them to loiter around there any longer. This was bigger than the two of them, they just got caught up in it. At the moment the only thing that the fisherman had to worry about was what was going to happen to Junkrat. Would his father try to come for him again? Would he be allowed back into his home? Did he even want to go back?

“Finally!” Junkrat stretched his arms above his head, rocking onto his toes. “This mean I get to check out your place?” There was a wide grin growing on his face, but Mako ignored it.

“Wait,” Winston spoke up, “there’s a chance that Mr. Fawkes might try to contact Jamie.”

“He’s right, there’s no telling what he could ask him.” Mercy was pacing the table.

“It’s fine, we’ll contact you if that happens.” Mako nodded, whether he actually was planning on doing that he couldn’t say. In all honesty he was thinking what would be the easiest way to kill the fucker, but only with Jamie’s permission.

They quickly said their goodbye’s, if they loitered any longer they would be stuck there for hours before they could leave. As much as Roadhog wanted to hear more he didn’t care enough to help them. He wasn’t even sure if he could. All he knew was Junkrat needed protection, but he needed to be somewhere where he wouldn’t cause any trouble for anyone else. Mako didn’t want to get in anyone else’s way, especially if there’s a war going on.

“Want ‘em? I’m sure you can sell ‘em for somethin’ good roight?” Junkrat was holding out a handful of jewelry, the stuff he was wearing when he came out of the ocean being chased by a dragon. It almost felt like a month ago, but it had only been half a week.

“Keep it, you might need to pawn it yourself.” Mako meant it, but he also wanted him to keep it for less honest reasons. The sea rat really did look great in them, and it made sense, he was royalty. It still didn’t feel like it fully sunk in, Junkrat was pretty much a prince. He had a fortune, probably a castle under the sea, yet hung out in a rotten ship and a disgusting beach. It didn’t really add up to him, sure his dad was a homophobe and he did just try to kill him, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t live somewhere else.

They didn’t have a lot to pack, since they got there half clothed in the first place. Make just shoved their dirty clothes in a plastic bag, and Jamie tossed his earrings and necklaces right on top. Lucio met them on their way out, warning them to stay safe, that they could still be targeted. For a kid he sure acted like a worried mother. Roadhog may not be in the best health but he could easily snap someone’s neck if he had to. They’d be fine.

Junkrat had to lead them back, telling stories about his previous misadventures that lead him coming back to the hidden village.

“I remember the first time I went, not too long ago really, dunno why I never heard of them before to be honest. I didn’t have a place to go, didn’t wanna go back home, was hiding from the police in the woods when that horse boy spotted me and grabbed me up. Somehow those fuckers knew who I was, let me crash at their place until everything got sorted out.” They were walking along the side of the road, the woods seemed counter productive.

“Wanna know why I couldn’t go back home huh? Nosey bugger,” Junkrat giggled, turning to Mako.

It was hard not to be curious, Jamie must have a million stories, and he could listen to all of them.

Instead he changed the subject, “I don’t really have much room in my house. Just one bed, no couch.”

“That’s alroight mate, we can just snuggle up again, get all cozy ya know?” That wasn’t what he meant, but now he realized how dangerous that could be.

“...I’ll buy a bed.”

“Wot!?” The sea rat spun around, flabbergasted. 

A rumbling laughter spilled out of Mako, he was only half serious. It wouldn’t be that hard to keep it in his pants.

The wind was blowing the air from the city behind them, and they could almost see the line of the little beach town. There was one road to and from the town, and on either side of it was woods and mangroves. Now Mako knew that there was actually a place in the middle, Lucio and his band of merry men. 

Home was going to feel weird, knowing what he knew now. Lena was a harpy, Lucio was a satyr, there had to be more hiding right there in plain sight.

“Got any pets? Always wanted somethin’ cute, well fish are cute but I’d feel bad keepin’ ‘em as pets while I’m eatin’ his sister right in front of ‘em.” Junkrat was buzzing, ready to sprint back if Roadhog would let him. It was a shame Mako was already walking as quickly as his creaky legs could go.

“Just fish.” Well, maybe not anymore, probably starved to death, or ate each other. He started to wonder which would survive, maybe the starfish.

“Oh.” His face fell, but he perked right back up. “What kind ya got then? A couple goldfish? Or are you an exotic fish kinda guy?”

They talked back and forth about fish for a long while. Jamie knew a lot about the types that were local, and gave him some tips on how to take care of them, not that it mattered if they were dead by now anyway.

They finally reached the outskirts of town and it was a sigh of relief. To Mako’s surprise it didn’t feel weird, if anything, he missed it more than he realized. It was rare for him to spend much time outside of town, he never took vacations, never spent too long in the city. He told himself it was because there wasn’t any need to, but that was a lie. He didn’t want to be so far away from Possum and Grice, or at least the place he remembered them most.

“No...Mako…” The fisherman was torn away from his thoughts by Junkrat’s hand wrapping around his thick wrist. The sea rat was stiff as a board and white as a sheet, like a freshly painted fence, and staring straight. He followed his eyes and noticed it, there was a man with dirty blond hair, eyes like a snake, and a black suit. The man stood out so completely as he wandered, hands behind his back, pretending to take in the sights as he scanned houses. He was definitely far away, and Mako had enough sense in him to scoop Jamie up and duck behind a nearby house.

“We’re fucked, we have to go back, he’ll find us a-a-and he’ll bargain for me and-” Junkrat was bad off, shaking like a leaf as he whispered. Mako encircled him, pressed up against the wall, trying to calm him down in any way he knew how, stroking his face gently with his hand and making Jamie look at him.

“Hey, hey, stop it. Listen, we’ll be fine, you’ll be fine Junkrat he won’t get you.” Mako knew how bad Jamie got before this, getting so mad, but this had him completely fucked up. There wasn’t an ounce of anger in the man’s eyes, except uninhibited fear. This was getting Mako angry instead, because he knew exactly how something like this could happen firsthand. 

They had to think fast, there was no way they could go home yet, and now that they were in town if they turned around Jamie’s father might spot them and they could lead him right back to Lucio on accident. His mind was racing, he needed to protect Jamie, and he was getting so frustrated his mind was hazing over, he didn’t know what to do, how to fix this. It was killing him to see how frantic Junkrat was, he was a twitching mess, writhing out of his hold to do _something_ to get away.

Suddenly there was a small hand on his arm. Roadhog’s head whipped to look at who it was and noticed the back door of the house was open, and a heavy, muscular woman with dark skin was standing there smiling at them. Confused Mako followed the hand, and saw a young girl with white dots around her eyes and her hair pulled back in a short ponytail, she was smiling as well.

“Come inside Mr. fisherman, that man already passed our house.” She sounded sweet, but wise for her age. Her and the woman must of noticed the commotion Junkrat was making and came to find out what was happening. Mako remembered seeing the girl around town, but he couldn’t place her name until just then.

“Thank you Efi.” He sighed in relief and helped bring Junkrat inside, stress leaving his body for the time being. The woman followed behind, and he noticed all the blinds had already been closed and the door locked. For people who didn’t know what was going on they sure did know how to handle it. Within moments tea and snacks were put in front of the two who had been plopped down on the couch by little Efi.

Junkrat was still trying to settle down, his hands shaking as he drank his tea. They were safe for now though, and that made Mako happy.


	10. Peace and quiet

“He’s gone, it should be safe now.” The large woman that had introduced herself to the two of them as Orisa turned away from the blinds with a smile.

All three of the figures sitting on the couch sighed in relief. Before them on the table there were empty plates and tea cups with rings forming at the bottom. It had been a couple hours since Efi and Orisa let them into their house from the back porch, and they almost thought Mr. Fawkes was going to stay there all day if he had to.

“He was walking toward the main road and was picked up by a black car, they should be well on their way out of town by now.” Orisa was taking up platters and saucers, her adopted daughter Efi assisting her.

Mako would of helped too, but Efi had slapped his hands away with a scolding smile, believing that since he was a guest there he shouldn’t have to. Instead he turned his attention to Junkrat, who at this point was back to normal, eating popcorn out of his hand and paying half attention to the tv. Any other time he would've scolded him for being so rude, but the sea rat’s eyes were puffy and red, and Mako couldn’t help but rest his hand on the poor guy’s thigh.

There was a lot more to the situation than the fisherman realized, he knew Jamie’s rage toward his father was justified enough already but maybe things were worse than he thought. After all, Jamie himself said he still lived at his father’s palace, and who knows for how many years. A lot of things could have happened to him, far more than what could've happened to Mako in the short time he lived with his own father.

“I called Miss Leena for you, she said she asked your pretty neighbor to watch over your house while you were gone so your fish wouldn’t die.” Efi had a pencil behind her ear, she had been doodling all sorts of complicated robotics while they had waited. She got really stoked about Junkrat, taking dimensions of his arm and leg to design proper prosthetics. Jamie humored her, telling her all sorts of colors and functions, how to articulate the fingers or move the knee. Mako honestly was surprised at how much Jamison knew what he was talking about, the guy mentioned making explosives but this was a different ballgame. 

Mako also couldn’t help but respect Efi, he hadn’t seen her out and about all that often, but he knew her from a distance. She was always asking around for spare parts, making chunk change for repairing toasters and washing machines. This was different though, he’s seeing her firsthand. Efi was incredibly smart and incredibly wise, she successfully distracted and entertained Junkrat enough to stop his panic attack and make him feel better, something he himself was completely lost on how to accomplish. Fuck, this kid was only eleven and she was ready to make Junkrat proper prosthetics just because she could, which was a hell of a lot better than a goddamn hook and some ancient ass wood.

Mako patted her head, a feeling of overwhelming respect bubbling up inside of him. “Thank you.” He looked up at Orisa, “This was very kind of you two.”

The two giggled at him, swatting a hand in front of them, “It’s the least we can do to help, don’t worry about it.” “Yeah we’re glad to do it, that guy’s been skulking around for days now. He usually heads down to the beach though, maybe he finally gave up.”

Junkrat sighed, “My father ain’t giving up, he probably figured we’re still back at that place or we skipped town. If we go to tha house now he’s probably got spies lookin’ out for us. There’s only two options for us now I guess, go back with Luce or start runnin’.” He looked distant again, dejected.

“There’s no reason you couldn’t stay here, at least for the night. It’ll give you some time to plan, and you’ll have a warm bed to sleep in.” Orisa stated, leaning an arm on the couch.

“We couldn’t do that.” Mako replied quickly. He didn’t want to drag them into their mess, it was already more than enough that they got to hide out for a little while.

“And why not?” Efi was glaring at him now, arms crossed. “Nobody even knows you’re here!”

That didn’t surprise Mako one bit, but he had to stand firm. Usually he didn’t care about anyone other than himself, but something had changed in him ever since he met Junkrat, and he couldn’t bear to imagine these two people getting hurt in any way. 

“Alroight.”

Goddamnit Jamie.

“Goddamnit Jamie,” Mako grumbled, running his hand over his face. He was readying a speech for how they couldn’t put them in danger, and that it was their crosses to bear, but he had to open his dumb mouth.

“She’s roight Roaddie and you know it. If I learned anythin’ from that dumb Overwatch thingy it’s that ya ain’t gotta go in alone. Ya can trust other people.” Junkrat looked exhausted, and for good reason. He was getting hit the hardest by all of this. Maybe it was fine for one night, maybe things wouldn’t end in blood.

“Overwatch?” The fisherman snorted, “that what it’s called?”

Jamie made a gross sound and started to laugh, “Yeah, pretty stupid eh?” 

The two were fighting back their grins, but with Efi beaming at the two of them it was too hard and they both started giggling like a bunch of idiots.

Things actually did go pretty well for them. They started on a plan, they were going to get up before dawn and sneak into the house. Once they were there they’d grab whatever they needed (at this point Mako made a mental note to absolutely bottle up Pinklet and take it with them, however he possibly can), and ride out of there as quickly as possible. After they get on the road their options were limited, they could try to go back to Overwatch, or they could leave the city, state, go as far away from the sea and the incoming war as they possibly could. It was a tough and shitty decision, but they had to think of themselves and what they wanted. How much use would an old thug and a crippled fish out of water really be when going against military trained black ops type goons and a guy called Reaper. Chances of survival didn’t sound too high.

After they put that on the back burner, Mako didn’t see much of Junkrat until dinner. When they all sat down, Efi and Jamie were covered in oil and sweat, which made Orisa order them to shower or they wouldn’t get anything to eat. Halfway through Makos plate the two returned from their respective showers and shoveled down their meals. Orisa rolled her eyes as if this was a normal occurrence, and the two of them were taking care of their empty plates and heading into the garage in no time.

“Seems like the two of them are getting along.” Orisa laughed, spooning peas and carrots into her mouth.

“Yeah,” Mako prodded at his food, brows furrowed. What could they be up to?

As if reading his mind his dinner friend said, “They’re working on Jamie’s prosthetics I bet. Efi doesn’t have any friends interested in her work. I try my best at helping her program, but I’m her guardian, it’s different.”

Mako grunted in acknowledgment, he didn’t have too many friends when he was young either, and a gang definitely didn’t count.

“I will be honest with you Mr. Rutledge, I’ve seen your wanted posters, and I know something dangerous is happening. I was about to run the two of you off, I believe I could take you.” Orisa gave a sly smile, puffing up in her chair. Mako had to admit she was pretty close to his size, it sure would of been a hell of a fight. “But,” he shoveled some more food down, “my Efi had told me not to. She said, ‘Orisa, Mr. fisherman is a good man, I see him giving away fish and helping people fix their cars. I want to help him if I can.’”

The words ‘good man’ hit him in the gut. Mako had never been called a good man. Mako had never thought of himself as a good man. Mako wasn’t a good man. 

“When I opened the door and saw you and your friend I understood what she meant. I do not believe you are a killer, you have killed people before but this is not what makes you a killer. I saw you trying to console your Jamie, and I saw the love in your eyes. Killers can not love like that, so I believe Efi’s judgement to be the truth. You are a good man Mr. Rutledge.” Orisa smiled at him, and went back to finishing her meal.

They stayed silent after that, Mako completely abandoning his plate, opting to stare into a half eaten pile of mashed potatoes. He had never thought of himself as anything but a killer and a thug. It was just a part of him that he accepted and never questioned, it was just who he was. Nothing inside of him thought that would change, he would always bear the lives of those he had taken on his shoulders, he would always grieve for his dear Possum and Grice, the only people he had ever loved. Mako didn’t care about himself or anyone around him, he was cold and mean and ugly. 

“Ex...excuse me,” he go up, bumping the table with his stomach hard, but not letting that stop him as he escaped into the only room he knew was okay to go in, the bathroom.

With the door shut, and the only light coming from a small nightlight on the wall, he started to cry. Huge tears poured down his face as he shuddered, slumping onto the porcelain floor. Silent sobs wrecked him as he frantically wiped away his endless tears. He thought about years of indifference, years of pretending not to care, years of not taking proper care of himself. Then he thought about how much it fucked him up, how much he pushed his feelings and his emotions so far away it was hard to even feel happy anymore. He thought about how he looked, scarred, wrinkly, bulging, and how much he had hated it for so long. 

Possum and Grice appeared in his head now, and he couldn’t help the whimper that struggled out of him. How long had it been since he allowed himself to cry over them, how long had it been since he felt loved. Possum was his world, he loved him with his entire heart and now he’s dead. Grice was his own flesh and blood child, taken from the world before he could even experience it. Mako regretted so much, he hurt so much, and nobody had ever stopped to think about him.

Mako was a disaster, hair pulled out of his hair tie, snot and tears dripping down his face, covering his hands, landing on his thighs and soaking into his pants. He was completely broken by Orisa’s kind words, she had called him a good man. Mako had done all that shit, and they both called him a good man.

“Mako?...” A hand touched his shoulder, and he whipped his head up to see Jamison kneeling over him. He hadn’t locked the door, hadn’t heard it creak open.

Jamie was looking at him, concern plastered on his uneasy face. Jamie was here, and that was enough.

Mako pulled him in close into a dangerously tight hug, and cried into his bony shoulder until he couldn’t cry anymore.

\----

Mako found himself curled up in bed, Jamie spooning behind him, dead asleep. It felt like the life had been sucked out of his body, but he hugged a tiny arm close, kissing the knuckles.

The last two hours were sort of a blur, he knew he cried a fuck ton, and that after they helped him into the room where Junkrat cooed softly and undressed him to get comfortable. He couldn’t remember what was said to him, or what he said, but he felt at peace. Mako knew he wasn’t okay by any means, he was still all fucked up and no amount of crying could fix that, but he had an idea of where he wanted to be moving towards now.

“Jamie…” Roadhog gently prodded him awake, turning to face him, eyes puffy.

“Ngh? Yeah big fella’?” The sea rat was rubbing crust from his eyes, stretching to get comfortable again.

“I want to help Lucio.”

Junkrat was forcing himself more awake now, sitting up and massaging his face with his hand. “Yeah? Ya think we could do it?”

Mako grunted in reply, nodding a bit.

“Could prolly...whip up some kinda weapon with Efi, we were spitballin’ ideas earlier.” He squinted at the clock on the nightstand, 3:47, it would be dawn soon enough.

“I have a gun at home, might be able to modify it when we get to Overwatch. It’s pretty old though.” Mako was sitting up too now, grabbing a water bottle on the nightstand and chugging it.

“Nah, garbage by now, I usta make all kinds of weapons for Reinhart's crew, won’t take me too long if I got two extra hands. Well, that is if Orisa’ll let her,” He gave a lazy giggle, scratching the back of his head.

“I can help.” Mako went to get up but was quickly pushed down.

“No can do big guy, I’ve never seen a guy like you break down like that before, you’re gonna stay and rest ‘til I come and get ya. Alroight?” Jamie beamed down at him, now wide awake. He looked handsome like that, leaning over him. Mako reached up and ran a hand through his hair.

“Hm,” Junkrat took it in his hand and kissed his palm softly, “Orisa sure did give me a fright when she told me you were gettin’ all sobby in the bathroom. I couldn’t believe it, but when I saw ya I couldn’t help but wanna hold ya. Too bad ya got to that first.” He closed his eyes, peppering more kisses. “Ya musta had a hard life huh?”

There was love in the way Junkrat looked down at him, and Orisa’s words flooded into his head again. Killers can’t love like that. 

“Ooh nooo, no no, don’t do that, I’m sorry,” Jamie fussed, wiping away a couple tears that fell from Mako’s eyes.

With a soft sniffle he nodded, holding Jamie’s hand in his, finger intertwined. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I sure did.”

“Well listen real good big guy, cause I ain’t gonna say it again,” he was peppering kisses to his face now, kissing away the bad thoughts, “Things are gonna get better since I’m here, and ya ain’t gonna be able to get rid of me ‘til they are.”

Mako smiled, pressing Jamies hand into his face, “Yeah...I know.”

He could see the look on Jamie’s face, like he was fighting some internal conflict, but Mako didn’t pay any attention. Instead he found himself thinking of Possum, and how much he would of loved Junkrat. Part of him wondered if they met while he was still alive, if he still would've fallen in love with him. That wasn’t the reality though, perhaps instead he should be thinking of destiny, maybe some higher power was finally looking out for him and sent him this slimy sea rat to save him from himself. The best case scenario was Possum and Grice set this up from heaven, having gone through a world of people just to find the perfect one, sure it took some time but only someone like them would chose a gross merman.

“Stop lookin’ at me like that mate, or else…” That look was still on Junkrat’s face, but it was so overwhelmingly full of love that before the sea rat could even finish his sentence he was leaning in close.

And their lips touched.

And the world felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry things are getting all emotion and internal dialogue heavy, I just wanted to get Roadhog's feelings towards everything on track so things can start to move on.
> 
> So this is my favorite chapter so far, and honestly, I was crying while writing Roaddie's breakdown. I really love Roadhog and I honestly believe he's a really emotional character who just kinda shut that part of himself off. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I did, I really started to love this dynamic between the two of them and Orisa and Efi, I think they mirror them perfectly. I also don't want to imply that Junkrat and Roadhog are incapable of fighting, because obviously they're more than capable, it's just Roadhog's perspective because he hasn't seen Jamie fight yet, and he doesn't have much confidence in himself anymore. 
> 
> I'll stop rambling about my silly fic now lol, thank you for reading and commenting I truly appreciate it.


End file.
